Shin Koihime Musou: Aethermages of the Three Kingdoms
by Hurricane's Quill
Summary: Ancient China, 200 AD. The Han Dynasty wanes as the Three Kingdoms begin their rise. However, a prophecy fortells of 108 Messengers of Heaven, descending to bring peace to the world, but no wars can be won with simple words. C.J. Rosenthal, one of these 108, must join up with the sisterhood of Ryuubi, Kanu, and Chouhi to find the answers he seeks and the destiny that awaits...
1. From the States to China in 60 Seconds

**Draw One: From the States to China in 60 Seconds**

_"Come on, Vincent. It's an art museum. What's the worst that can happen?"_

C.J. Rosenthal was really starting to wish he hadn't said that. Lady Luck had a tendency to give him the cold shoulder whenever he said that.

Currently, C.J. was sitting on the ground in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere, amidst rolling hills and plains in all directions, with only a large mountain in the distance breaking up the monotony of the scenery around him. The temperature had suddenly risen, so he had tied his lucky black suede jacket around his waist, revealing his jeans and blue Winnipeg Jets shirt, and he quickly gave his black and red wushu shoes a dusting off, he decided to try and reflect on his current situation.

_Okay. Think, C.J.. You went to the shop, played to train for the PTQ. Then, you left, because you had to go the art museum for that assignment you needed in your history of art class. You were in the Asian wing, you saw a guy take a mirror off a stand. You chased him, he threw you like a ragdoll into the opposite wall. You chased him outside, grabbed your practice sword from your bag, cracked him over the head, which made him drop the mirror. You blacked out, then woke up, and now you're here._

"…but where in the holy mother of Sidney Crosby is HERE!?" C.J. shouted to no one in particular. C.J. was easy to get frustrated, and the whole situation and the mystery of it all was doing him no favors at all. As he looked around, he saw something on the ground next to him: a box about the size of his hand, colored white and red. Curious, he picked it up and opened it, revealing a deck of cards inside, with the top card currently being Boros Recruit.

"Well, at least my deck made the trip…seriously, I'm not nearly ready to part with this thing…" As he returned the card to the deck and closed the box, he noticed that the box had a clip so that he could attach it to his belt, almost like a hip holster for a pistol. But right when he was about to clip it on, someone shouted for his attention.

"Oy! Hold it right there!"

C.J. stiffened, looking as suddenly, he was surrounded by three bandits in leather armor, one short with a pointy noise, another in similar armor barely able to keep his girth held in, and another guy in the middle. All three of them were wearing yellow neckerchiefs, one around their neck, and one around their heads like bandanas.

"Who the hell are you?" asked C.J. bluntly.

"We'll be doing the talking around here, so you shut up," the leader said, whipping out a dao sword and holding the point under C.J.'s chin. "You got some interesting things on you, buddy. The clothes, that thing on your nose…I'm especially interested in what ya got in the box I saw you holding. So why don't you just drop everything in a nice little pile here, and maybe we'll let you live."

"Hrm…" C.J. snorted, clearly not buying that last part. He'd almost think they were just putting on an act, but from the way that dao dangerously close to his Adam's apple was gleaming keenly in the sun, he knew that was a real sword. He would've loved to figure out where these guys got off, pointing swords at random guys and demanding the clothes off his back and then some, but at the moment it was a time for action. The thing was, he was still debating of whether he could take on three people in a fight with his greatsword, even if it was just hard plastic. One, he could do, but three?

"Hrm, my ass!" said the short one. "When Aniki tells you to leave everything, you start taking it off!"

"Hey, take them off," the fat one echoed.

_One stupid, one easily riled, and one professional…I think I can hack this… _C.J. produced his deck box, waving it. "Oh, so it's this you're interested in more than my clothes and my glasses, mm? Well, if you want it…"

C.J. exhaled, tossing the deck box into the air. As the three of them watched the white and red box tumble in the air, Aniki lowered his dao, allowing him to cross step backwards for distance, and drew his greatsword, a hard metallic _shing _ringing off the weapon's…blade? Sparing a brief look down, C.J. saw that his sword, once made of a hard plastic for practice purposes, was now of metal, with a sharp edge. _Okay, how did that happen? _

Clack. The deck box came down on the ground, between the four of them, and at once a fight for the box ensued. Aniki attempted to grab the box first, but C.J. stepped forward, stabbing forward with the point of his sword. The attack was wide of his intended mark, but it did still slice past Aniki's shoulder, giving C.J. the opening he needed to scoop his deck box off the ground, holding it out to them. "You want what's inside? Well, if you want it…you'll have to take it off my hands."

"Gh…you're gonna regret that! Fatso! Kill this son of a bitch!" Aniki said, clutching at the gash on his arm.

"Okay…" Fatso said, lumbering over. Having been so focused on the leader, C.J. had neglected to notice that Fatso had some pretty muscular arms. _Guess he lifts, _C.J. quipped to himself."Aniki's telling me to…sorry…"

C.J. didn't reply as he clipped the deck box to his belt like he intended, then lifted his greatsword into a roof stance, eyeing him warily. Fatso then lashed out with his dao, and as C.J. tried to parry it away, Fatso's strength nearly tore the heavier weapon out of his hand.

"Gah!" C.J. recovered, trying to get his focus back.

"You, you better surrender…I think…" Fatso said, raising his dao for another blow.

"Tell that to my sword edge, jackass!" C.J. countered, advancing forward and to the left as he swung his sword at his middle. To his utter shock, striking his middle wasn't nearly as effective as he guessed it would be. In fact, it was more like hitting a brick wall.

"Ouch. That hurt…" Fatso said. And then he struck C.J. in the side with a heavy punch, which not only caused C.J. to hit the ground in a world of pain, but it also sent his deck flying into the air, landing in a pile around him.

_Damn it all! I must not have closed the deck box properly!_

"That's what's inside?" asked Aniki, grinning crookedly at the fallen C.J. "Just a bunch of weird parchment…hah. Fatso, Midget, make sure he doesn't leave."

C.J. attempted to get up, steadying himself with his greatsword. He figured he'd collect the cards once he was out of danger, damage be damned. After all, his life was at stake! However, Midget bounded in, kicking the sword out from under him as Fatso stepping on C.J's neck, C.J. gagging as he tried in vain to catch his breath.

"You gotta be some kinda lucky for getting a strike on me, but some kinda stupid taking on three guys at once," Aniki said, placing his dao's edge right between his eyes. "But, once I lay your head open with this, I won't have to deal with you anymore. You'll just become Heaven's problem."

C.J. gagged again, still unable to get air as tunnel vision began to set in. This had to be some mistake. How the hell did stopping a thief from getting a mirror and accidentally breaking it lead to getting assaulted by three bandits in a foreign land and then death? He was wishing whatever divine force that had brought him here would intervene again, but already that seemed like a pipe dream as Aniki raised his sword for the vital blow.

"Hold it, fiends!"

The shout got the bandits' attention, but more importantly, it got Fatso's foot off C.J.'s neck. C.J. gasped, coughing as sweet, sweet air filled his lungs again and his tunnel vision vanished, only to be replaced by a bunch of stars as they swam across his eyes. Amidst all this, he could see the people that had come for him.

All three of them were girls. The first was dressed in a white and bright green blouse with a short black skirt, black stockings, and, for some very strange reason, brown loafers. Her hair was black and as long as a flag's, tied in a simple ponytail, and in her hands was a green-handled kwan dao, with pink ribbons under the curved blade.

The second was a girl with reddish-pink hair, almost the color of terracotta, decorated with white feather hair ornaments. Much like the first, she was wearing a green and white blouse, but her skirt was wider and a dark red by comparison, she had white hip-length boots and a red ribbon was tied around her neck in a bow. She was carrying what appeared to be a jian, the thinner, straighter cousin of the dao.

The third, though, was a girl barely half the size of the other two, and yet she carried a massive viper spear, a polearm with a straight blade but a wavy edge, three times her size with ease. She was wearing a dark blue top and pants, decorated with a belt with a ying-yang symbol, and an orange jacket. In her bob-cut pink hair was a tiger beret.

"Who the hell is this!?" asked Aniki.

"Why don't you mind your own business!" shouted Midget.

"How dare you ruffians threaten to lay your hands on this noble?!" the first one said, pointing her weapon at them. "Know your place, foul bandits!"

"_Ano…_if you're willing to surrender and run away now, then we'll let you," the second one said, not nearly as confident as her friends. "But if you won't, then you'll have to deal with us!"

"And we're not some pushovers! Rinrin's gonna beat you up!" said the third, waving her viper spear threateningly.

_How very Sailor Moon of them_, observed C.J., quickly trying to identify where his greatsword was in the chaos, eventually finding it not far from where he'd fallen, but it was right next to Aniki, so if he was going to get it, he had to move quickly and carefully…

"I ain't gonna be lectured by some bitch and her posse…" Aniki growled. "Midget! Fatso! Deal with them! I'll take care of our other guy here…"

C.J. took that as his time to move. Rolling over, he reached out with one of his long, monkey-like arms, and managed to grab his greatsword's pommel and drag it over, right as Aniki was turning to face him. Getting up, he shook away the stars clouding his vision and hefted his weapon. "Don't forget about me! I'm not nearly done with you yet!"

"Bastard! Come on, then!" Aniki said, swinging his dao.

The battle began in earnest. The girl who called herself Rinrin went for Midget, zipping forward with speed that belied her small figure and massive weapon, while the girl with the kwan dao went for Fatso. The girl with the jian tried to flank Aniki, but she tripped halfway there, falling flat on her face. Aniki and C.J. shared a look, and then went for her together. As Aniki tried to pick her up, probably to take her hostage, C.J. tossed away the greatsword and flung himself into the air, tackling Aniki to the ground.

"Lights out!" C.J. grinned, rearing his arm back to punch him, but Aniki struck first, smacking him in the head with his dao's pommel, making C.J. see stars once again. However, the girl was back on her feet, attacking Aniki with a downward stab, but he blocked the attack, kicking her away. C.J. managed to retrieve his greatsword, stealing up behind Aniki as he attempted go for her again, and then reversed his hands as he put him in a triangle choke, using the blade as leverage. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it!?"

"Fatso! Midget! Little help, please!?" Aniki gagged.

Midget was too busy dealing with Rinrin, but Fatso heard him and grabbed his opponent's kwan dao by the haft and tossed it and her away as he lumbered over to help.

"Crap, not you again," groaned C.J.. Releasing his grip on Aniki, he threw him towards Fatso with a hip toss, but somehow even that didn't slow him down. As Fatso swung his sword, C.J. tried and failed to parry again, this time the blade actually coming down into his shoulder.

"MOTHERF-" C.J. shouted, stumbling back, willing himself not to black out with the pain. Continuing to fight now was a bad idea, as he needed both arms to wield his sword and one bad arm meant he had nothing to work with.

"Aisha-chan! Help him!" the other girl shouted.

Aisha, the one with the kwan dao, came barreling in like a bat out of hell, swinging her kwan dao. "Fear my Green Dragon Crescent Blade! ORIYAH!"

SMACK. She slammed the haft of her weapon right down on Fatso's head. He almost expected it to crack and break under the strike, but Fatso groaned, stumbled, and fell flat on his back. C.J. sighed, sticking his weapon in the ground.

"You're injured…" Aisha observed, looking at C.J.'s bleeding shoulder.

"No, really!?" C.J. quipped. Granted, it wasn't the kind of tone one wanted to take with the ones who just saved his life, but the pain put a little bit of that in his voice.

"You should rest now," the other girl said, ignoring his snarky tone. "Let us handle this."

C.J. ignored her, so hyped on adrenaline as he was at having made it this far with his body mostly in one piece. As he looked around, though, he could still see Rinrin fighting Midget, although she had the upper hand, but Aniki was already stealing back to where C.J.'s deck had fallen. "Hold that thought-!" Grabbing his greatsword in his good hand, C.J. took off running, kicking at Aniki to keep him away from his cards. "Oy! Hands off!"

"You're a persistent one," Aniki growled. "But with your shoulder like that even you will become easy prey…well, easi_er _prey."

"Try it, assclown!" C.J. said, attempting a one-handed stab, but fell woefully short of his target again. Aniki's dao flashed out, catching him right in the forearm before swinging his foot. C.J.'s sword went one way, he went another, falling to the ground as blood dripped from a new wound there. Then, Aniki stepped on his chest, his dao edge pressed against his neck.

"Hey! You girls! Stop fighting or your friend here gets it!" This had the desired effect: Kanu lowered her weapon, and Rinrin disengaged from Midget, the three of them across from Aniki and C.J.. C.J., meanwhile, was reaching out with his good arm, trying to reach where his sword was, but all he could touch was one of cards…Warleader's Helix, to be precise. "Now in spite of everything you did, the boys and I are willing to overlook it all if you agree to our demands."

"You scum! I would never…" Kanu began.

"Wait, please!" the girl with the jian pleaded before turning to Aniki. "What is it you want?"

Aniki motioned to Shorty and Fatso, who was just getting back on his feet, and they appeared behind the girls. "Not much really. I don't really know who you are, but we'll gladly tie you up with this guy, rape you all, sell you as slaves or just keep you for ourselves…depends on what happens, really…" Now THAT pushed more than a few buttons, none more so than Kanu and C.J..

"How dare you…! I would never allow myself to be debased by you!" Kanu shouted.

"Take a hike!" agreed C.J. "Take my stuff if you want, but if you touch them I…I can't be held responsible for what I'm going to do you!"

"Then I guess you'll just have to die…" Aniki grinned, raising his dao to finish C.J. off.

"No, wait-!" the jian girl said, but it was too late.

As Aniki swung, C.J. raised his arms to block the attack, and a burst of golden light erupted from him, and the card between his fingers, stopping the attack. As Aniki and the girls raised their arms to shield their eyes, C.J. said, "I told you already…I'm not done with you yet! WARLEADER'S HELIX!"

And with that loud proclamation, a double helix-shaped bolt of lightning shot out of the card, striking Aniki and sending him flying. The girls could only stare in awe of him as C.J. got up, grabbing his greatsword from the ground as his wounds vanished. Even his clothes were back to normal, having mended themselves. But the most surprised of them all was C.J. himself, staring at awe at the card from whence it came.

_How…what…that lightning…was that the actual spell? It matches the art! But…how is that even possible!?_

Aniki was getting up, a large black spot on his armor, and even Midget and Fatso didn't look nearly as enthused to be in the same vicinity as a guy who just spontaneously summoned lightning and struck their leader. Despite of not knowing how he just did what he did, though, C.J. was not about to let the opportunity pass him by. He picked up another card from the ground and shouldered his greatsword, he gave them all a grin. "This is your only chance to run, boys. If you turn around and run now, we won't pursue you, and you can keep whatever shred of dignity you still have on you. If not…I think there's some ladies behind me who aren't so happy you were going to make them your sex slaves…"

Aniki knew the jig was up, even if the lightning was a fluke. "Tch…Midget! Fatso! Come on, we're going!" With that, the three of them took off in a random direction and didn't look back. C.J. sighed with relief, finally able to rest after his harrowing ordeal, although internally he was asking himself so many questions he didn't know where to begin.

"_Ano…_" the girl with the jian started to approach him, although Aisha blocked her with his kwan dao.

"Touka-sama, please. You must be careful around him…he may turn against us next…" Aisha warned.

"Nah, he's okay, Aisha-neechan!" Rinrin said with a carefree grin. "He helped us out!"

"But still…" Aisha said, looking rather defeated.

Touka used the opportunity to continue. "Are you okay?"

C.J. blinked. This was the first time he'd gotten to see his saviors properly, and he had to admit, they were pretty cute, but it was Touka in particular that captured his attention, especially with those eyes. Those green eyes like the sea, he almost wished he could swim in them. "I'm okay now."

"Heh…I'm glad," Touka said with a smile that damn near melted his heart.

"Though, as long as we're talking, I just have a question," C.J. quickly gathered his other fallen cards and deck box. "Where are we?"

Touka stared at him in confusion, and he was briefly aware that Aisha and Rinrin were, too. "Huh?"

"Look. This is going to sound completely weird, but, I was at the museum, looking at all this ancient Asian stuff for a school assignment, and a guy stole a mirror. I tracked him down with a few friends of mine, cracked him over the head with my sword (which is now real, for some strange reason), and the mirror broke. I blacked out, and then I woke up here when Larry, Curly, and Moe showed up."

Kanu just gave him a suspicious look at the story, so C.J. added, "Also, what's up with your weird clothes? You guys into cosplay or something?"

Touka blinked, as if C.J. was speaking in a foreign language. "Museum? Cosplay?"

C.J. opened his mouth to reply, but all that came out was a rather undignified "…zuh?" Now all three girls were looking at him strangely, so he decided to press on and forget about it. "Okay…just…where am I? I'd like that answered above all else."

"This is Yuushu District, at the foot of Mount Godai," Aisha said briskly.

"I do what, where?" C.J. asked, now thoroughly confused as he sheathed his sword. "Also, what's up with the weird clothes? You never did answer that."

"Well, you're wearing strange clothes too, Onii-chan!" Rinrin cracked. "I mean, that thing on your chest is really shiny!"

"Yeah, it reflects the sun's light. I wonder if it's some complicated mechanism?" Touka asked.

C.J. looked down, wondering what they were referring to, and a quick observation revealed that the thing they were referring to was the Winnipeg Jets logo on his shirt, the thing briefly flashing as it reflected the sun's light across the embossed symbol. "Oh, this? It's just polyester. They do that with sports clothes sometimes."

"What is this 'polyester' that you speak of?" Touka asked suddenly.

"…zuh?" he said again.

"You just use a lot of words I don't know. Museum, cosplay, polyester…just who are you, good sir?"

"The name's Christian Joseph Rosenthal. But you can call me C.J., all my friends do," C.J. replied. "I'm a college student from Southern California…" And then he stopped, the looks of confusion told him that's all they needed to know. "How about you guys?"

"My family name is Ryuu, my first name is Bi, and my common name is Gentoku!" Touka said happily.

"Rinrin's family name is Chou, first name is Hi, and my common name is Yokutoku!" Rinrin said.

"And I am Kan, followed by U. My common name is Unchou," Aisha finished.

You could almost hear the tire screeches of C.J.'s mind coming to a halt at the mention of those words. _Ryuubi, Chouhi, and Kanu? AKA Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu!? They're three of the most famous figures in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms!_ _But that can't be right! They're all girls! _

"I must be dreaming…either that, or I'm dead. Because nothing else makes sense right now…" C.J. proceeded to stretch one of his eyelids out and snap it back in. "Ow…'kay, not dreaming…and I can't be dead, that guy who stole the mirror was good, but he couldn't have been _that _good… So that must mean that, by some act of God, I actually transported into the past. Wow. That's just great. I did the time warp like it's the Rocky Horror Picture Show up in here…"

"Time warp? What is that?" Kanu asked.

"What's a time warp?" asked C.J. "Um…well, geez, how DO I explain it…"

"Waha! I knew it!" Ryuubi suddenly cut in, her eyes shining. "Aisha-chan! Rinrin-chan! He knows nothing of this country, uses words we don't know, and his clothes are weird!"

_Maybe not in Canada, but whatever…_ C.J. countered in his mind.

"He's probably one of the Messengers of Heaven! An angel of love, descending to save the warring states!"

C.J. couldn't help it; he burst out laughing, and when it subsided, he found that Ryuubi's smile and shining eyes hadn't faded at all. "…oh God, you're serious."

"Touka-sama…are you saying this is who we've been looking for? The Heavenly Messenger that Kanrou mentioned in the prophecy?" Kanu asked.

"…well, Rinrin believes it," Chouhi said.

"Kanrou-chan said so, right? 'Messengers of Heaven shall come to save the warring states, riding a comet from the East! The five colored lands shall be their tools, and with them they shall craft wonders of war and peace to save the warring states!'" Ryuubi said. "Well, according to that prophecy, this man is indeed a Heavenly Messenger!"

"But this guy doesn't look really reliable," observed Chouhi.

"And Merry Christmas to you, too, Chouhi," C.J. deadpanned.

"I agree. For a Heavenly Messenger, he doesn't seem to be all that heroic," Kanu said.

"It doesn't look that way to me," Ryuubi said, disappointed her friends weren't agreeing with her.

However, C.J. had something else in mind. "Warring states? What, is there some kind of uprising going on?"

"The world's a bad place right now," Chouhi said. "The Han Dynasty imposes a lot of taxes! And there's a lot of bandits and they bully weak people, kinda like you!"

_Ouch_, C.J. thought. All of a sudden, it seemed to make a lot more sense.

"So the three of us decided to save those people. But, it's not enough with just the three of us…" Ryuubi said.

"While we were thinking on what to do, that's when we met Kanrou, who gave the prophecy that you've heard about," said Kanu.

"So we came here, and that's when we found you!" Chouhi finished.

C.J. frowned at this, looking at the deck box in his hand before clipping it back on his belt, and then sheathing his sword. "Look, I'll admit it's a nice sentiment you've got going on here, but…I'm not the kind of guy you're probably thinking of. The magic thing? Have no idea where it came from, and probably a fluke. At all. Swords? I'll admit I've got some skill, but in actual combat I'm a liability, more than anything."

"A fluke? You're so useless, onii-chan," said Chouhi. C.J. rolled his eyes in response.

"But it should be clear you're not from here!" Ryuubi insisted.

"To coin a popular Sunnydale phrase, 'duh,'" C.J. said, his tone a colloquial one. "But-"

"See? Then, it's decided your one of the Heavenly Messengers!" C.J. groaned, but internally, he had to give Ryuubi an A-plus for persistence.

_Grrowl…_

The girls suddenly stopped, staring at C.J., who merely blinked, and realized it was him who gave off that noise. Specifically, his stomach was telling him he hadn't eaten in quite some time. "Eh heh heh…heh…I kinda skipped breakfast because I was training for…something else…" _No point mentioning the PTQ if they don't even know what a museum is…now please tell me you can read the situation…_

The tension deflated like a punctured soccer ball.

"Rinrin's also hungry!" said Chouhi.

"We also kinda skipped breakfast, too," said Ryuubi.

"There's a village northwest of here. We can go there and discuss this further."

C.J. grinned, adjusting his greatsword as it hung on his back. "Sounds like a game plan."

* * *

The village in question wasn't actually that far away, just a half-hour's walk down the road from the mountain. As C.J. passed through the gates, it was pretty much clear that he was in China. The signs of shops hanging overhead were written exclusively in kanji, with no Japanese kana anywhere, and all the weapons that he saw were made of bronze, well before the invention of steel. His sword was made of steel, though, so it would handle a bit more punishment, but everything else was a sign of the time and place he lived in now.

_200 AD, ancient China. Yup, either I've died or I picked up The Book._

"Onii-chan! Rinrin is hungry, so you'd better come!"

C.J. shook his head, following Chouhi and the others into a nearby shop. "'kay, 'kay, just give me a moment, I wanted to figure out where everything was." Not that he probably could, but it was close enough of an excuse.

The four of them took a seat at a table, C.J. just ordering some rice to be polite as Chouhi pretty much checked off everything on the menu, much to Kanu's annoyance. C.J. merely waved it off, and finally they began to eat.

And then...

"So how does this magic work, onii-chan?" Chouhi asked.

"Huh?" C.J. asked around a mouthful of rice.

"That lightning stuff was cool," Chouhi said. "But I get the feeling you know more about it than you're letting on, so I figured I'd ask you!"

C.J. groaned. He really didn't want to explain, especially given how complex the game could be. People could talk about Yu-Gi-Oh! and how complex that was, but even that could pale in comparison to Magic under the right circumstances. However, that didn't mean he couldn't at least try to explain some of the fundamentals of the game system. "Well, let's see. Any of you girls got something I can write on?"

None of the girls made a move at first, until C.J. produced a pen he'd been keeping in his jacket. "What is that?" Ryuubi asked, thoroughly interested.

"This? It's a ballpoint pen," C.J. said. "You know how you guys write with ink and brush here? Well, where I'm from, we decided to combine the two. Now, let me see if I can find something I can write on…ha! Alcatraz!" C.J. produced a business card he'd received a couple of days ago. He flipped it over to the blank side and quickly scribbled his name in one of the corners. "See?"

"Amazing! It writes letters!" Ryuubi said in awe.

"As expected of Heaven…" said Kanu. "There are truly mysterious items…"

"Onii-chan, I want one!" said Chouhi.

"I can't, unfortunately. This is the only one I've got, and it's a brand I actually like," C.J. said apologetically. "Besides, if I don't have it, you won't get your lesson on magic."

"Aw…" Chouhi pouted, cheeks puffed. "Okay…"

C.J. chuckled, then cleared his throat. "The basic idea of Magic is that the entire game revolves around five different colors. No matter what the spell, creature, sorcery, enchantment, whatever. More than ninety percent of spells in the game rely on a certain color of magic. Each of those colors has an associated land and symbol."

"Land? Like in the prophecy?" asked Kanu.

"That's the idea," said C.J.. "It kinda made sense to me when I mulled over what Ryuubi said about five colored lands. Anyway, the first color is white. It's represented by a sun symbol, like so, and it draws power from the plains and meadows. White is the color of order, law, protection, and morality. Healing spells are almost completely exclusive to white, and when it comes to wiping out the field, white can do it a lot better than most others. Their creatures…" C.J. took out his deck, sliding it out in front of them and selecting one of his Boros Elites, placing it in the center. "Are soldiers and knights, kinda like this one. Though if you really want to bring the hammer down, you call on angels like these." He proceeded to show them Aurelia the Warleader, Firemane Avenger, and Angelic Skirmisher.

"So white is strongest in military might, is that correct?" asked Kanu.

"I guess so. It's not like red magic, where you spawn a bunch of guys and then unleash them like a tidal wave (although that can be very effective, too). White magic loves strategy and cohesion," C.J. nodded. "My Boros deck, for example, is built around getting at least three attackers out to gain their Battalion effects. Bant decks from the Alara block have the Exalted mechanic that gives monsters bonus strength if they attack alone. Get a lot of monsters with Exalted on the field, and that bonus piles up quick. Ah, good times...anyway, it's a trait shared by one of its allied colors, which is blue. Blue is represented by a drop of water, and it draws power from islands."

"Islands?" asked Ryuubi. "What are those?

C.J. wilted. He knew explaining the game would be difficult, but he wasn't expecting that! "Um…an island is a piece of land surrounded by water. Think about a lily in a pond, and that's an island…pretty much."

"Ah…you're a good teacher!" Ryuubi said, nodding sagely.

"Anyway, blue mana is all about knowledge, manipulation, illusion, and mentality. Blue magic is about working behind the scenes, and love to do the smoke and mirrors thing. Spells that affect the mind are generally attributed to blue, and while it can benefit the user, it can also hurt anyone who gets his ire."

"How?" asked Chouhi.

"Ever have a really bad headache? That's how I always imagined it'd be like."

"Oh yeah! I would have those once in a while, usually after eating a whole bunch of sweets," Chouhi laughed.

"Blue mages usually call upon those who fly or live in the ocean to serve them. Sphinxes, drakes, sprites, and even great big leviathans."

"Leviathans?"

"Imagine a fish-like creature that's about the size of the continent."

"EEEEEEEEH!?" the girls shouted, in awe of C.J.'s short but succinct description of the titanic beast in their minds.

_If I still had my Esper deck, I'd love to show them my Kederekt Leviathan…_

"However, that's only the beginning. You want to talk about scary, here's the third color of mana: black. It comes from swamps and bogs, and is represented by a skull," C.J. carried on. "Black mana is the magic of decay, unlife, and mortality. Black mana is all about power at any cost, and to do that, that includes invoking demons from hell and raising the dead. It can kill instantly with the right spells, and curse others to withering existences where…oh, come on Ryuubi, come out from under the table, I don't have any black spells, if that's what you're worried about!"

"I didn't know magic could be so dangerous!" Ryuubi said, completely out of sight from the rest of the group and an empty place between Kanu and Chouhi.

C.J. groaned. "All magic is dangerous, but it's black magic that runs the gamut when it comes to dangerous things. Demons and the undead aren't the only things they command. There's also bloodsucking vampires from Innistrad and Zendikar, deadly assassins what serve the Dimir in Ravnica, all sorts of foul creatures in Shadowmoor, deathcultists from Grixis in Alara, and...oh, Lord, she's shivering now. Kanu, help?"

Kanu nodded, reaching down and hoisting the trembling Ryuubi from under the table. "Having courage in the face of dark things is important for a ruler, Touka-sama."

"Sorry…" Ryuubi hung her head in shame. "But that black mana stuff really scares me."

"Black mana is dangerous in the way it corrupts the weak-minded," C.J. said. "But in truth, black mana is as much a natural force as any of the other colors, and even the other colors can be used by evil people. When a sword is used in a murder, it's not the sword that's evil, it's those who wielded it. Does that make it easier to digest?"

Ryuubi nodded, a relaxed smile on her face. "I guess so…"

_Oh god, that smile. Resist! Resist! _"Anyway, the fourth color is red, represented by this little fireburst, and it draws powers from mountains and volcanoes. Fury, chaos, fire, and ferocity and are what rule red magic. It's a powerful, in-your-face magic that rains fire, summons lava from the ground, and even lightning from the sky," C.J. continued.

"So that lightning thing you did was a red spell!" Chouhi said.

"Actually, you're only half right," corrected C.J., looking at his deck and bringing out Warleader's Helix for them to see. "Warleader's Helix is actually a multicolored spell, both red and white. But good on you for figuring that out." Chouhi giggled embarrassedly at C.J's praise. "Red creatures are all about offense. They swarm the field with goblins and barbarians and turn 'em loose all at once. But when big guns are needed, they'll bring out huge fire elementals, living spirits of fire, phoenixes and great big dragons to control the field of battle."

"So you use both red and white magic. It seems oddly contradictory, considering the nature of both colors that you mentioned earlier," Kanu observed. "With white being the color of order and red the color of chaos…"

"I won't deny that, as white and red are conflicting colors in more ways than just that, but the nature of the Boros combines both into a very effective package. But that's something I'll have to explain another time," C.J. agreed. "Because now we get into the fifth and final color, which is green. It draws power from the forests, and naturally its symbol is a tree. Green magic is about nature, the law of the jungle, and sheer brutality. Some of the strongest creatures in the game compared to mana needed are green. This is all about drawing power from nature, whether for lush growth, inspiring the will of the predator, and summoning the might of a stampede."

"Heh heh. Sounds like Rinrin's color," said Chouhi. C.J. mostly agreed, the way she handled a viper spear three times her size was a testament to her strength, despite her size, so green definitely seemed like her color.

"The majority of its creatures are animals, territorial elves, and even the trees and plants themselves can rise up to fight at the behest of a green mage's call. Lorwyn introduced treefolk, living trees that are some of the hardest creatures to kill in the game. And when you need to make a splash, you call on wurms, half-worm-half-dragons that dig through the earth and strike like the fist of fate itself."

His lecture finished, C.J. turned the business card around, the five symbols displayed on it for them to see. "There you have it. The five colors of magic from which all spells derive. Now, the way it actually works is very complex and I still haven't settled on how it's supposed to work when two mages throw down, but all things considered it's about a good an introduction as is necessary. So for now, let's stick to what we have."

Kanu nodded, mulling over all the information C.J. had just dumped. "So if there are multiple Messengers of Heaven, is it possible they command the same power as you do, but drawing from other colors than the ones you do?"

"I wouldn't be surprised, but that all depends if there are multiple Messengers of Heaven…which I think Ryuubi kinda implied," C.J. mused. "As a common rule, most Pla…Messengers of Heaven won't run with more than two colors. Some might have decks like ones from the Alara blocks, which run three, with one main and its two allies, but one or two color decks are the most common…"

Suddenly, Ryuubi stood up. "C.J.-sama! Lend us your strength!"

C.J.'s head whipped in her direction, his conversation with Kanu derailed. "Wait, what?"

"As you know, we've been travelling all this time to assist those who cannot help themselves and fall into sorrow," Ryuubi said. "But the three of us alone aren't enough. That's just the way things are right now."

_Huh. Not wasting any more time, I see. _C.J. mused. He'd been wondering why they hadn't brought it up since travelling to the village, and with the conversation being Magic-focused, he guessed Ryuubi wanted to make her statement now.

Ryuubi then nudged Kanu, who also stood up. "The Han Dynasty's government rampant corruption, the tyranny of the Emperor, and bandits who prey on the people for their own sakes form a chain of misery that wreaks havoc on the whole continent. So please, we beg of you, take up the mantle as Messenger of Heaven and help us end this chaotic time!"

C.J. blew out a long sigh, gathering his cards and returning them to his deck box. Kanu, Ryuubi, and Chouhi were all nice girls, but he needed to be honest with them about the situation. "Look. The whole Messenger of Heaven thing, I don't even get what it is you want me to do. All I see myself as right now is just some average college student from SoCal who's way in over his head. Is that the kind of guy you want to quell your wars and save the weak? How am I supposed to save others when I can't even save myself?"

"So…are you saying you were sent from Heaven with no knowledge of your mission?" asked Kanu.

"Something like that, I suppose," C.J. said. "I just really don't know what I'm here for or what role I have to play in all this. So to be foisted with this responsibility of saving the world out of the blue…I just feel like you're setting yourselves for some major disappointment. That's all."

All three girls just stared at him, Kanu and Ryuubi looking like C.J. had just kicked a puppy. Already C.J. could feel a pang of guilt, feeling like he'd strung the girls along and then broke all their hearts with a single masterstroke blow.

"So…you are not the Messenger of Heaven, then?" asked Ryuubi finally.

"Probably not," C.J. shook his head. "I mean, the tales of Kanu Unchou, Ryuubi Gentoku, and Chouhi Yokutoku, or Guan Yu, Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei, as they're called back home, are famous, but they come from a time some 1800 years in the past. This whole thing could be one great big accident, for all I know."

"I…see…" Ryuubi said, already looking like she was going to start crying.

For a moment, nobody said anything, and then Kanu spoke again, her voice tinged with that minor tone of sadness. "You must understand, C.J.-sama. Rinrin and I left our home after it was destroyed, and we sought out a master who we could depend on, one who could help us bring an end to the meaningless wars. But the more we fought, the more chaos spread, and those who could not fight fell one by one, and all we could do was watch. It was heartbreaking…mortifying, even."

"I was once like them," Ryuubi added, her voice already cracking. "I was a poor girl living with my mother, selling bamboo mats. But when bandits came for our village and Aisha and Rinrin came to save us, my mother explained that I was the descendant of Ryuushou, a distant relative of the emperor, and that maybe with Aisha and Rinrin I could help bring peace to this land, but it's still not enough. When we heard Kanrou-chan's prophecy, we thought there was finally some hope for us…"

The way Ryuubi's tears glistened at the corners of her eyes finally caused C.J. to give in. "Okay! Okay! Just stop! Give me a moment to think before I start crying!" Giving himself a moment to settle his emotions, he began to think.

_This is SO not what I wanted! I just wanted to spend time with my friends, take the bus to the museum, get my school stuff squared away before the PTQ, and be on the way to Long Beach by the next morning! But here I am, sitting in a rejected Type-MOON visual novel situation with a genderflipped Kanu, Ryuubi, and Chouhi! And that fight with those yellow guys only proved I am well out of my league here!_

As he looked back up at the girls in front of him, they were all looking at him expectantly, Ryuubi in particular probably praying to whatever gods existed in this world that he'd change his mind. C.J. sighed, rolling his eyes skyward._ But then again, I'm not going to be able to survive on my own...well, Grandma, looks like you got me..._

"Okay. What you're saying is if we combine Ryuubi, a descendant of the Emperor, and me, a card-slinging Messenger of Heaven, you'll get a lot better results gathering people to your cause than you would with just your good looks, yes? If that's what the difference in success is, then I will join you as your portable shrine, battle standard, whatever."

The girls looked at him in surprise. "Really!?"

"One, you saved my life back there, it'd be remiss of me not to pay you back for that somehow. Two, I kinda have a weakness for helping pretty girls in need, so leaving them out in the cold is not my style." C.J. noticed Kanu seemed a little bent out of shape by his choice of words, but he pressed on. "And three, you gave me food. That's always a plus. So, in exchange for the food and my life, and in line with my own morals, I hereby present my services as Messenger of Heaven, such as they are, to use as you will."

C.J. was expecting them to cheer, hug him, maybe a kiss from Ryuubi (he was really getting hung up on her and he had no idea why), but all of them suddenly seemed rather…sad? "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Eh…um….you see, I thought people from Heaven were rich…" Ryuubi said.

"We thought we were in Heaven's care…" said Kanu.

"What they're not gonna say is we're flat broke," Chouhi grinned.

Alarm bells went off in C.J.'s head. "You WHAT!? Okay, one, that's cold, girls. That's ice cold. Two, I have money, but it's all useless here! I can't pay for any of…this…" Already, people were gathering around them, giving them sour looks. "Oh…oh, this is SO not good…"

"So you're all dirt poor and eating for free, hm!?" a middle-aged woman suddenly shot out from the kitchen, glaring at the quartet.

"No, no, we all thought we had money and it turns out we didn't…" Ryuubi explained, trying to laugh it off to no avail.

"We had no intention to eat and run…" Kanu said.

"If you all will just settle down, we're more than happy to negotiate something…" C.J. offered, trying to play the diplomacy card.

"No excuses! You won't escape! Everyone, get them!" Immediately, every patron in the restaurant stood up, surrounding the quartet on all sides.

"Eat and run, huh?"

"Those shameless bastards!"

"Let's punish them so they never forget it!"

"No, wait, please, listen to us!" Ryuubi pleaded.

"Too late!" C.J. shouted. "INCOMING!"

* * *

The resultant melee was actually rather short. However, in exchange for their lack of funds, they were forced to wash dishes for the rest of the day in exchange, and that seemed to drag on for a small eternity.

"Ha…I'm tired…" Ryuubi moaned.

"Fighting with a spear on the battlefield is less tiresome…" Kanu agreed, some two spaces down the row from her.

"I always wanted to get in the food industry, but this is ridiculous," added C.J., who was manning the stack behind her with a rag.

The owner, whom they learned was named Rumi, merely laughed at their commiserations. She was actually a rather nice woman, despite calling the local posse on them earlier. "The kitchen is a woman's battlefield. If you whine here, you won't be able to help people in the future."

C.J. blinked, moving another plate to the stack next to him. "How did-"

"I heard all your talk from the kitchen earlier. I'll be cheering for all of you," Rumi explained.

"Well, if you're cheering for us, I wish you didn't have to make us wash these dishes," Chouhi grumbled. This got a slight laugh out of C.J., who merely shrugged at Rumi.

"It's a different situation, little one," Rumi explained. "People trying to achieve great things shouldn't overlook the little ones. If you settle things the right way, you can walk in the sun with your head held high."

C.J. nodded sagely, almost thinking back to his grandma as Rumi spoke. This nearly caused him to drop a small bowl, but he caught it before it hit the floor and moved it to its place next to him. Rumi then produced a clay bottle and four small cups. "Here. Take this and go."

"What's that?" asked C.J..

"Sake I made earlier. Use it to celebrate your departure towards that great goal you have in mind."

"Rumi-san…" Kanu said in surprise.

"We don't know how long we have to live in this world. But if there's people like you in it, it may become pleasant again…" Rumi said.

"Thank you!" Chouhi said. "We'll grow stronger for sure and be sure to protect everyone!"

Rumi laughed again. "I'll hold you to that. So, where are you planning to go?"

"Touka Village. It's the next village over, further northwest of here," said Ryuubi.

"Touka Village, hm? What's out that way?" asked C.J..

"We heard there was another Yellow Turban outpost that way. We intend to clear them out, and if we're lucky, the chief magistrate may be willing to employ us," said Kanu.

"Assuming his interests are aligned to ours."

"Indeed. You catch on well, C.J.," Kanu nodded.

"Well, you seem strong and you have a good plan, at least," Rumi said, moving to the side to allow them access to the door. "Go on, then. I hope you'll come back to visit us someday."

"Thank you so much!" the group said in unison, bowing their heads.

* * *

And so, with Rumi's blessings and sake in hand, the four brave warriors went forth, travelling up the road. C.J. was happy to at least have a sense of purpose now, even if he wasn't exactly sure if it would turn out as well as Ryuubi and the others did. However, he was more concerned with the scenery…or lack thereof. As far as he was concerned he'd been traveling down the road past the same hills and meadows for the last few hours.

"So, you said it was around here?" asked C.J., who was in charge of the sake bottle and cups.

"That's what Rumi said. If we travel about two li up the road leading to Touka Village, there should be a large hill to the west, and we should crest that hill to reach our destination," Kanu said.

"This place is full of friggin' hills! I haven't seen more hills in this place I went hiking in the mountains with my folks a few years back!" C.J. said.

"Well, if it's a hill in the west, then I bet if we get to the top of one we'll find out where to go!" said Ryuubi, quickly crossing the road to reach the first hill she saw.

"Touka-sama, wait!" Kanu said, going after her, Chouhi and C.J. not that far behind. However, when they made it up the hill, they all stopped, staring in awe at the beautiful grove a peach blossom trees - all in full bloom no less! – spread out among them like an ocean of brown and pink.

"So this is Taoyuan…amazing!" Ryuubi giggled.

"It's so beautiful…it's well deserving of its name…" Kanu agreed.

"Wow…I'm just…holy hell in a handbasket, this place is gorgeous!" C.J. shouted.

"Are there similar places in Heaven?" Kanu asked.

"Well, yeah, I guess, but not where I was. I'm just happy for a place that's got more colors than green and brown," C.J. said with a laugh.

It's said that one of the most famous scenes in _Romance of the Three Kingdoms _is the scene where Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei pledge their brotherhood with each other. Never once had C.J. imagined that there would come a time that he would be able to partake in that scene without having to resort to Doctor Who logic. But now, here he was, with cup of sake in hand, under the shade of a thousand peach blossoms, with three girls who shared their names, and they were arguably cute to boot. One could say C.J.'s previous theory about him being dead held more water now, but C.J. didn't care, instead pouring sake for himself and his three new friends.

"Is something wrong, goshujin-sama? You look pensive about something," Ryuubi asked.

"No, I'm fine, it's just…" Suddenly, C.J. realized what Ryuubi called him, and he nearly dropped the sake. "What did you call me?" He wasn't unfamiliar with the term, a Japanese one meaning roughly "master of the house," but it was generally reserved for situations beyond this one, or for perverts who liked to play around with maids a little too much.

"Onii-chan is our master now, so we're going to call you that!" Chouhi said. "It's only natural we call you that 'cause you're our Messenger of Heaven!"

"Indeed. You are now our master, just as Rinrin said," said Kanu.

"Well...I guess that makes sense. Maintain a kind of relationship between us as Messenger of Heaven and his trusty retainers and all that," said C.J.. "But could you please not call me that? It makes me feel like I'm running a damn harem. You can call me C.J., C.J.-dono, milord…I'm not averse to Master C.J., but anything beyond that and I'll seem like a pervert."

"I guess that's okay…" Ryuubi said. "But you can still call us by our mana!"

Now that term, C.J. didn't know. "Your what?"

"Our mana is a holy name, one that we only share with our families and those close to us," Kanu explained. "To know a person's mana and use it without their permission can be viewed as an affront."

"Ah…" said C.J., nodding. "So it's like a secret identity. That's kinda cool…I guess that goes to show how much you trust me. So, I guess that means your mana are…"

"My mana is Aisha," said Kanu.

"Rinrin is Rinrin!" said Chouhi.

"And I am Touka," said Ryuubi.

"Aisha, Rinrin, and Touka…well, I guess in trusting me with your true names, I guess you can also call me Christian on top of everything else, which is kinda like my mana, too," C.J. said.

"Onii-chan gave us his mana! That's so awesome!" Rinrin said happily.

"We will try to be worthy of it," said Aisha.

With nothing much more to say, the four of them raised their glasses high. "Here's to the four of us!"

"I, Chouhi Yokutoku, true name Rinrin…"

"I, Kanu Unchou, true name Aisha…"

"I, Ryuubi Gentoku, true name Touka…"

"And I, C.J. Rosenthal, true name Christian…"

"Though our last names are different, we pledge this vow as brother and sisters all! Though we are not born on the same month, day, and year, we shall live and fight, and may we one day die on the same month, day, and year!"

"Cheers to us," C.J. finished, and thus they downed their sake…which C.J. almost regretted right from the start, as he quickly coughed as the burning sensation in his throat threw him for a loop.

"Ha ha ha…onii-chan can't hold his sake!"

"Rinrin, don't be rude! He's our new master!"

"Sorry, I'm not used to alcohol."

"So I take it you won't want more, Lord C.J.?"

"Hell no! Pour me another round, it won't do if you're the only ones drinking!"

"It's not gonna get any better for you…"

"Oh, shut up."


	2. Legion's Justice

**Draw 2: Legion's Justice**

"_Because there's a hill, so it's a hill! Even if it's a river, don't pay it any mind!_"

"Rinrin, you shouldn't be singing such silly songs!"

C.J. sighed. Ever since they started into the forests leading toward Touka Village proper, Rinrin decided it would be a nice idea if she started singing a silly song. Honestly, C.J. welcomed it, the change in scenery from plain to forest was nice at first, but now it was the same problem but with a different hat, and Rinrin's singing was a good distraction from the monotony. Touka didn't look too bothered by it either, but Aisha apparently wanted no part of it.

"Aisha, it's just a song, come on!" C.J. said.

"You're spoiling her too much, Lord C.J.," Aisha said, frowning at C.J..

"Spoiling her nothing! I'm just letting her be a kid. Don't you remember being a kid at all?"

At that, though, Aisha's face suddenly softened, but not in a good way, causing C.J. to wonder if he brought anything to light that he shouldn't have. Thankfully Rinrin, unaware of what was going on, proceeded to take over. "Well, if maybe Aisha-neechan doesn't like my songs, then maybe she'd like your songs, onii-chan!"

C.J. stumbled a little bit on a rock. Or at least he thought he did. "Really, Rinrin? No need to put me on the spot here…!"

"I always did want to know what the songs of Heaven were like…" said Touka.

"Please, onii-chan! Sing a song from Heaven!"

C.J. was starting to find it very hard not to resist Touka and Rinrin, and even Aisha seemed largely interested in the prospect of learning something about "Heaven," even if it was just a song. So, instead of trying to weasel his way out of it, C.J. decided to go through his mental repertoire and eventually settled on a song he felt was good.

"_Well, we're big rock singers, we got golden fingers, and we're loved everywhere we go…" _he began, snapping his fingers to the rhythm. "_We sing about beauty and we sing about truth, at ten thousand dollars a show…_" He began to mix up his steps, performing some kind of shuffling dance with his wushu shoes. "_We take all kinds of pills to give us all kinds of thrills, but the thrill we've never known…is the thrill that'll get you when you get your picture on the cover of the Rolling…_Stone…?" C.J. stopped in mid-song, looking up through the leafy trees, something apparently grabbing his attention.

"Is something wrong, C.J.-sama?" asked Touka.

"Um, pardon my squirrely ignorance about the world at large, but…isn't black smoke in the direction of our destination typically a bad thing?" C.J. asked, pointing up into the sky, where a large black plume of black smoke rising up could be seen through a break in the trees.

"Tch…!" That could not have been good sign, as Aisha took off running down the road. "We must move quickly!"

"You heard the lady, let's move!" C.J. said, running after her.

"Wait, Aisha!"

"Aisha-neechan!"

* * *

They finally managed to reach Touka Village, but the whole city was pretty much in shambles and the black smoke was remnants of fires that had already begun to die out. Villagers were already coming out, mostly in shock of what had just occurred. Some were still pulling away debris, whether to save loved ones or belongings. Others were running around, looking for help with wounded people and missing children, and still more were those trying to gather the dead in one place.

"What happened here?" Touka asked, hands already over her mouth in horror.

"Bandits…those swine!" Aisha said, already pulling out her kwan dao.

"Come on!" Rinrin also had her viper spear ready. "They couldn't have gotten far!" However, C.J. grew his great sword, holding it out with the flat to stop Rinrin and Aisha from leaving. "Onii-chan-!?"

"It's too dangerous to chase after those bandits now and we've got bigger fish to fry right in front of us," C.J. said, looking around at the scene before him. "What we need to focus on is triage. Aisha, start on the left and start helping those clearing dead bodies. Don't take too much time, though, the living are more important right now!"

"I'm on it!"

"Rinrin, you're on rescue. There's bound to be people who need help in those ruined buildings. Help them and tell them to get any injured to the center of town and leave the dead where they are for Aisha to come pick up."

"Got it, onii-chan!"

"Touka, you're with me. We need to tend to the wounded. I can't do very much, though, so if there's any doctors in town, figure out where they are and get their asses over here!"

"Will do, C.J.-sama!"

The triage efforts took most of the evening and well into the night, and with everyone exhausted and still in shock, burying the dead was out of the question and would have to wait for another time, so they grabbed blankets out of everyone's homes and covered them, so at least they'd get another day before the smell came in. C.J. was in a blur of people moving, crying, screaming, wounded in every place imaginable, covered in soot and basically in hellish misery as they all reconvened in the local tavern, which was one of the few buildings relatively untouched by the raid.

"Damn those Yellow Turbans…"

"Didn't they say they'd be back tomorrow?"

"And with more of them! We're doomed!"

"They'll be back for our wives and daughters!"

"What do we do?"

"I say we run! They won't be back until morning, so we have plenty of time to run for Joshu by then!"

"But…our ancestors built this place! We buried them here! We just can't leave…"

C.J. was in a seat next to the door, currently tying a stiff tree branch to a little boy's arm with some leather scraps Touka had found and wrapping it in bandages. He shook his head, thoroughly drained by his efforts the whole evening as he sent the boy back to his parents. "That was…just…terrible. I think that's gonna haunt me for a while."

"And yet, it may be just the beginning," Aisha said distastefully. "Lord C.J., why did you not have us pursue them? We could've defeated them!"

"Maybe. But they were long gone and by the time we got wind of where they went they'd have regrouped," C.J. said. "Better we stay and help these guys than get ourselves killed in an ambush or anything worse."

"And yet…it still doesn't feel right…" Touka sighed.

"I know. But that's life sometimes, you can't always get what you want," C.J. agreed.

Rinrin returned, finally done patrolling to make sure no more Yellow Turbans had doubled back to check their recent raid. "Is everyone okay?"

The village headman, an older man balding stone-gray hair, approached them. "Are you with the Imperial Guard?"

"We have come to fight and end the suffering brought by chaos and to defeat the Yellow Turbans," said Aisha.

"The Imperial Army is here to save us?" another villager asked.

"…no. Unfortunately, we are not with the Imperial Guard," Aisha said dejectedly, which caused a loud groan to go up from the huddled villagers.

"But nonetheless, we are here to save you!" Touka said.

"What can children like you do? We're adults, and even we couldn't put up a fight against the Yellow Turbans!" asked another villager towards the back, nursing a bandaged head wound.

"There was just too many of them," the headman moaned.

"How many Yellow Turbans were there, exactly?" asked C.J..

"Around four thousand, at a stretch. How could such a tiny village like this fight against such numbers?"

The number boggled C.J.'s mind. _Four thousand people came through here!? How indeed!_ "Please tell me you at least _tried _to fight…"

"Of course we did! These are our homes, we couldn't let them destroy them! But, there were just too many…"

"And then they said they'd be back! They already destroyed our homes, they might take our food and women next!"

"We know that! But how are we supposed to fight against those beastly thieves!"

"I don't know…"

"Dammit all, why won't the Imperial Guard help us?! This rebellion is all thanks to the selfishness of all the officials in the court! Why are we dragged into their fights?!"

"What's the point in complaining about that now? They may come back and attack us again tomorrow!"

"Eh? They'll be back tomorrow?" Touka asked in surprise.

"It stands to reason. This village is already on its last legs after the first strike," C.J. observed. "There's no other way they'll be able to fight back on its own, so they strike again before they can recover, the situation will get twice as worse here…"

"Then I say we run! Our only hope for the whole village is to run away!" the second villager said.

"How can we do that? Our village was built by our ancestors! We must protect it!"

"I want to protect it, too! But…but how can we!?"

The whole thing devolved into a loud debate with no consensus anywhere in sight. C.J. groaned, massaging his temples as he stood up. "Well, that makes things difficult."

Aisha and Rinrin looked at each other, trying to think about what they wanted to do, but before any of them could think about what to say or do to break the deadlock, Touka came forward. "Um, excuse me…if I could just get a word in…"

"Touka, get back here, they're not going to listen to you like that…" C.J. began, but Aisha merely gave him a jab to the foot with the butt of her kwan dao.

"Could you get their attention for her, Lord C.J.? I don't think she'll be able to do so on her own…" she said.

C.J. gave Aisha a look, but the look of trust in her eyes told C.J. all he needed to know, and he came forward, inhaled deeply, and then shouted as loud as he could, "QUIEEEEEEEEEET!"

And silence there was, every person in the tavern now staring at him. Blinking for a moment at his rather rousing success, C.J. stepped alongside Touka, held out a hand, and said, "My friend here would like to speak. Touka, the floor is yours."

Touka said nothing for a moment, still wondering where that C.J. kept that thundering voice hidden, and proceeded to take over. "What I was going to say was, I have an idea."

Like lightning, Touka's words got everyone's attention. "What is it? Is there a way we can be saved?"

"_Ano…_I think…there is, anyway…" Touka said.

"What? What is it? Please, tell us!"

"Of course, but…but first, I want to know how determined you are…"

"How…determined we are?" the headman asked, confused by Touka's choice of words.

Touka nodded, moving into the gaggle of villagers. "Yes. Are you all determined to protect this village? Do you want to protect all the other villages nearby?"

"Of course!"

"Our grandparents built this village from the ground up," said the headman. "The village nearby was the same way. Of course we'd protect it!"

"Then, if that's the case, then here's my idea!" Touka said. "Let's fight them together!"

And almost immediately, a loud shout went up, most of everyone balking at Touka's idea. C.J. groaned, and then looked back at Aisha and Rinrin. "Aisha? Rinrin? Help, please?"

"Did you not listen!? How are we supposed to fight them? How are we supposed to defeat them!?"

"Well, we can!" Rinrin said, suddenly getting involved as she joined Touka and C.J..

"How can you be so sure?" the villager in the back said.

"Because, not only are you amidst royalty, but Heaven itself has granted you aid," Aisha said, coming forward to join her friends as well.

"Uh-huh!" said Rinrin. "Touka-chan is a descendant of Ryuushou himself, and onii-chan is a powerful Messenger of Heaven! And they fight with us!"

"Huh?" asked the headman, a question echoed by many more.

"Rinrin, remain quiet," Aisha said, although her smile didn't drop at all. "You're making things more complicated."

"Boo…" Rinrin pouted, one that almost made C.J. burst out laughing at its adorable-ness if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Regardless, she speaks the truth: a descendant of the Emperor and a Messenger of Heaven is on our side," Aisha said, carrying on as she drew C.J. and Touka together.

"What do you mean, a descendant of the Emperor and a Messenger of Heaven? Are you saying that God is on our side?"

Aisha nodded. "Has the rumor not reached this far yet?" Upon getting no answer, she elaborated. "The rumor about the descendant and the Messenger. Everyone in Luoyang was talking about it. They said a Messenger of Heaven would be sent to meet a descendant of the Emperor, and put an end to the chaos together…"

"Luoyang?"

"The capital?"

"If it came from Luoyang, then it must be true…"

_Hot damn. This might actually work! _C.J. observed. After all, with no internet, TV, or radio to speak of, a rumor in the capital was about as much a vote of confidence as anything else. It was a risky move, because if it was false (which it was) and it was revealed, the deception would be cut away in a trice, but against the Yellow Turbans, it was as good as gold, and better. _Was this what they wanted of me, then?_

"So who are these two that you speak of? Show them to us!"

"They are right before you," Aisha said. "On my right is Ryuubi Gentoku, the descendant of Ryuushou, related to the Emperor himself. On my left is C.J. Rosenthal, a Messenger from Heaven who descended on a comet from the East!"

C.J. felt a shock of dread surge through his limbs, realizing Aisha had just put them on the spot. And already, more than a few people were looking skeptical about it, but if Aisha was worried, she didn't show it.

"Uh…" Touka said.

"Hi, everybody…" C.J. said. _I'd love to crack a joke here, but I don't think that'll help our chances…_

"These two?" asked the headman, looking the two of them over closely.

"Yeah right!"

"This timid girl is a child of the Emperor? And this tall guy with the long arms is a Messenger of Heaven?" another villager scoffed. "I don't believe it!"

Aisha was already ready to start thwacking the villager in question with her kwan dao, but she quickly recovered. "Very well. Let's start with Lord C.J.. Is it not obvious he is not from here from the way he is dressed? Look at the symbol upon his chest! Does it not shine like the sun in the light? That's because it is made with a material called polyester!"

This caused more than a few people to look at C.J.'s shirt and the Winnipeg Jets logo on it, and eventually C.J. pulled on the shirt to show the polyester in the logo to show how it worked.

"Po-ly-es-ter? Never heard of that!" the villager from the back said, now looking at the Jets logo. "And I didn't think you could make clothes shine like that…"

"He has also studied Sun Tzu's Art of War, Jiang Ziya's Six Secret Teachings, and even the Three Strategies of Huang Shigong. And, he defeated a Yellow Turban with a burst of lightning from his hand, before all our very eyes."

Now C.J. was even more worried. He did read a little bit of the Art of War, at least, but most of his knowledge came from video games! Granted, he did play strategy games more often than not, but translating things he learned in Fire Emblem, Magic: the Gathering, and Starcraft II to real life almost seemed impossible. Plus, he had no real idea how he would prove his magical skill to the other villagers, at least not yet. But now Aisha was selling him almost like a used car, and it was having a major effect on the villagers looking at him, and now there was some real pressure coming down on the Californian.

"I have traveled with Touka for some time now," Aisha said, moving on to Touka. "And the blood of the Emperor in her veins is genuine. And, if you still doubt her connection, behold her sword, which shall prove it to you."

It was the first time C.J. had actually seen Touka's sword up close, but now he could tell there was something about the sword he might not have seen at first glance. Beautifully crafted, the blood channel of the jian appeared to be made of some kind of yellow metal, probably bronze, while the rest of the sword was regular steel. However, in the light of the tavern, it almost seemed to gleam like white fire.

"Wow…no ordinary peasant would wield such a beautiful sword!" the headman observed.

"Maybe…maybe we will be saved!"

"Yes! We will be saved!"

"You betcha!" said C.J., deciding to get involved to make sure Aisha wasn't doing all the work. "And we'll be with you every step of the way! So, get your gear and get ready, because tomorrow morning those Yellow Turbans are going to be in for a big surprise!"

"We can do it!" one man said. "I shall go and gather other villagers who can fight!"

"Me too!" Another man said. "We have to be able to find other people willing to lend a hand!"

"I'll go look around and see if there's anything we can use as weapons!" the one with the head bandage said.

"We're all counting on you!" the headman said. "In the meantime, the women and children shall go with me! We'll start gathering rations and other supplies!"

With that, every citizen in the village, regardless of injury, scattered left, right, and center, leaving the group alone in the tavern. C.J., his earlier enthusiasm gone as quickly as it came, proceeded to slump into one of the empty chairs, now even more exhausted than before. "Wow. Just wow."

"Rinrin's impressed, Aneja!" Rinrin said.

Aisha, however, was not nearly as chipper as her shorter compatriot. "Stop that. I absolutely hate myself for what I just did."

"Are you kidding?" C.J. asked. "In my world most advertising firms would hire you on the spot!"

"Please don't say that...I didn't mean to you put you and Touka out there that way."

"But it worked, Aisha-chan!" said Touka.

Aisha sighed, still not saying anything. In spite of C.J. still being rather irritated about being put on a pedestal the way he was, he knew it what Aisha's true intentions were, but now she'd gone and lied to a whole village that he was not someone who (at least in his eyes) wasn't the person that they thought he was. So, C.J. proceeded to get up and put both hands on her shoulders. "Hey. Don't be so down on yourself. You did it for a good cause, right? Helping Touka Village take on the Yellow Turbans?"

Aisha actually blushed for the first time C.J. had met her. "That is true, but…"

"And we can't leave them hanging when they believe in us, right? Then I say we make their wish come true. These guys want to take the Turbans to task and they think we're the fairy godmothers who'll make things better," C.J. said. "If we're fairy godmothers, then let's go 'bippity boppity boo' and start magicking up a way to help them out!"

"He is right, Aisha-chan! If they see you so down, the villager's morale will fall as well," said Touka.

Heartened by her friends' words, Aisha relaxed, finally able to smile again. "Yeah, I guess…in that case, I shall ride out and seek out aid as well. Rinrin, gather as many swift people as you can and see if you can scout out the enemy for us."

"Understood!"

"What about us?" asked C.J.. "Anything in particular you need us to do?"

"It would be a great help if you and Touka would accompany me."

"More miracle-selling to do before the devil shows up, I take it," C.J. said, nodding sagely. "Okay then. Let's get to it, we're not getting any younger."

* * *

The mustering took the remainder of the evening and well into the morning. By the time Aisha, Touka, and C.J. had returned to Touka Village, their numbers had swelled to around two-thousand. Granted, they were outnumbered two to one compared to the Yellow Turbans and their weapons ranged from okay to outright laughable, but they hadn't disclosed their current numbers to the others yet to keep morale high. Besides, he wasn't so concerned about numbers, anyway. With the right strategy, numbers could be overcome.

However, as they left the safety of the forest road and reached the hills overlooking the Yellow Turban camp, it was now painfully obvious how outmatched they were. And the villagers could see it too, as many of them were now looking at each other and murmuring.

"Look at them all! How're we supposed to win?"

"Our weapons are basically sharpened sticks! How do we win against swords?"

"Everybody stay calm!" C.J. barked. He then motioned to Aisha, Touka, and Rinrin, the four of them convening quickly in front of them. "We all know the plan right?"

"Yes. Rinrin will lead her army in first to engage their front line, and then swiftly retreat," Aisha nodded. "This draws the enemy forces to the hills, where Touka-sama will then fire a volley into the enemy forces. That allows us to charge in, and then Rinrin and her army will charge from the flank as reinforcements."

"That may be a problem with our guys looking like this, though," said Rinrin, pointing at the nervous army before them. "These guys look like they're gonna run any minute!"

"Good point," said C.J. He then quickly drew his sword. "Watch this. I'm going to get these guys fired up."

"How?" Aisha asked.

"With a rousing speech," C.J. said with a sly wink, then quickly made his way to the fore of the two-thousand man army before him.

"People of Touka Village! Hear me well!" C.J. shouted. "Now, some in the capital have said that a Messenger of Heaven is huge. He stands seven feet tall -'scuse me, seven _chi _tall - and smites evildoers by the hundreds! And if one was here right now, he'd consume the Yellow Turbans with fireballs from his eyes, and bolts of lightning from his ass."

Even though this was far from original and well ahead of its time, more than a few people in the army got a laugh out of it, including Rinrin, but she was swiftly silenced by a look from Aisha.

"I _am _a Messenger of Heaven. Believe me or doubt me as you will. And I see an army of countrymen, here in the defense of tyranny, and the fear of annihilation. You're all here to fight as free men do, because that's exactly what you are. Thing is, what will you do about it? Will you fight?"

A loud shout of assent went up from the army before him.

"Well, fight and you may just die. Run, and you'll live…at least for a time. But when you lay dying in your beds ten, twenty, thirty years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance to tell them…that they may take our stuff. They may take our lives! But they will never take…OUR FREEDOOOOOOOOM!"

The roar of the army was deafening, to the point C.J. was certain an earthquake had struck and the shout had drowned it out. Giving a slight chuckle, he looked at the others, Touka looking at him in total surprise, Rinrin looking just as fired up, and Aisha was simply smiling, impressed.

"Thank you, William Wallace," grinned C.J. "Now then! Weapons out and let's show these Yellow Turban bastards why you don't mess with us!"

"UUUUUOOOOH!" the villagers roared again, quickly taking up battle formations as C.J. looked out over the camp. Their shouting must have carried, because the Yellow Turbans were also lining up to defend themselves.

"So much for the element of surprise," said Aisha.

"Yeah, we're going to have to work on that," C.J. admitted. "But, no turning back now, is there? Rinrin? Begin phase one!"

Rinrin nodded, proceeding to raise her viper spear and wave it a couple of times. "We're heading out! Charge!" With that, she led her group, composed of about 800 villagers carrying axes, pitchforks, and sticks with fire-hardened tips for spears into the waiting line of Yellow Turbans below. C.J.'s grip on his sword tightened, trying to turn away from the sight for fear of not wanting to see Rinrin getting herself killed, and yet not wanting to, because of his involvement in the whole thing.

And yet, he barely had time for the inner conflict in his head.

"Lady Kanu! Lord C.J.! Lady Chouhi has begun her retreat!" A scout came forward.

"What, already?" C.J. asked.

"Is Touka-sama and her archers in position?" Aisha asked briskly.

"Yes, Lady Kanu!"

"Then steel yourselves! Once they fire their volley, we make our move!" Aisha turned to C.J. "Lord C.J., please remain here with Touka to help with the archers."

"Actually, Aisha, I'm heading out with you," C.J. said.

Aisha's eyes widened, scandalized at the notion of C.J. entering the furball below them. "Milord!?"

"I'm the one who inspired these guys to fight. If I couldn't fight alongside them, what kind of message would that send?" C.J. replied.

Aisha pursed her lips, considering her Messenger's words. "Very well. But please, no matter what happens, stay near me. I will protect you."

"I know you will," C.J. said, trying to smile amidst his stomach doing Arabians in his body.

Suddenly, a small brown rain began to fall from the sky, falling into the mass of yellow chasing Rinrin and her forces. That had to be the volley from Touka and the archers. "Charge!"

C.J. roared with the best of them as they thundered down the hill, right into the mass of Yellow Turbans in front of them.

The whole fight was practically a blur to C.J.. Even as he followed Aisha and strike down anything wearing yellow, all he could remember was people coming at him, getting struck down by somebody else, and his greatsword flashing up and down, streaked with blood, and the screams of people all over the place, everything was starting to get mixed together into one horrible vision of hell. As he turned and took out another Yellow Turban attempting to fight each other, Aisha had already disappeared into the furball.

"Aisha! Aisha!"

His shouts went unanswered. All he could see was bodies. Bodies and way more blood than he hoped he would have to see ever again. And then Aisha reappeared like a descending guardian angel, kwan dao flashing as it struck down a Yellow Turban coming up behind him.

"I apologize, milord," Aisha said. "I didn't mean to leave you behind."

C.J. mustered his tired arms and lunged past Aisha to take out another one sneaking up on her. "You came back, though! Nothing wrong with that!"

"One more push and our enemy shall fall!" Aisha called, rallying the villagers. "Everyone, muster up your strength! We can win this if we keep pressing forward!"

"You heard the lady! Kick it into overdrive, and we come out on top! Forward the whites!" C.J. added.

"ATATATATA!" Suddenly, Rinrin came flying out of nowhere, viper spear cutting a swathe through the Yellow Turban line like a miniature tornado. "Everyone, let's go! Charge! Smash! Victory!"

"Aisha-chan! C.J.-sama!" Touka, armed with her jian, suddenly came into the fray, weaving in and out of the bodies fighting each other to reach Aisha and C.J..

"The hell are you doing here, Touka! What happened to the archers!?" C.J. asked over the hubbub.

As if in answer, a loud cheer went up from nearby, a sign that the villagers had broken through the front line, but then a large shadow fell upon them. C.J., looking up, saw a humongous pillar of black energy reaching up into the sky.

"By the gods…what IS that!?" Aisha asked in horror.

"Is…is that a Doom Blade!?" C.J. asked.

Suddenly, the pillar came down like a batter testing his baseball bat. A swathe of villagers and even a few Yellow Turbans cried out and fell under its humongous wave.

"…yup, that's a Doom Blade," said C.J..

"A Doom Blade? Is it of the same nature as your other spell!?" asked Aisha.

"Definitely," said C.J. "Stay here and hold the line! I'll deal with this guy!" With that, he took off running, following the horde of people running from the Doom Blade's aftereffects as he made his way over to the caster. He was a man with oily, olive skin, garbed in a black and green robe. Two sets of colors that C.J. would recognize more often than not. "OY! GOLGARI!"

The man, who was in the midst of casting another spell, halted, seeing C.J. approach him. "So, the Messenger of Heaven appears, finally. So glad I get to run into the one who will lead Shoku."

"…I'm gonna take that to mean you're the one who's in charge of the Yellow Turbans in this area," said C.J.. "And judging by your colors, you're definitely Golgari."

"Impressive," the man said. "I am Azaret, of the Golgari Swarm. And it seems you are the one who I've been sent to destroy."

"Eh!?" Rinrin asked, suddenly beside C.J. "Destroy onii-chan!?"

"Good luck! Your guys are already on the run, what makes you think you can destroy me?" C.J. added.

"I don't need these barbaric fools to fight you, Messenger!" Azaret said, reaching into his robe as he pulled out a familiar deck of cards. "All I need are these!"

"A Magic: the Gathering deck…? This can't be real…" C.J. said, pulling out his own deck. Sure enough, the card backs appeared to be identical. And then, the clouds above them darkened, lightning crackling in the sky. "…what the hell?"

"You're in my territory now, Messenger of Heaven…" Azaret smirked.

A bolt of lightning struck the ground between them, a humongous wave of rainbow energy shooting in all directions before finally coming to rest in the air around them, forming a rainbow-colored transparent barrier.

"…I'm in a goddamn shadow game, aren't I?" asked C.J..

"…I'm not entirely sure what a 'shadow game' is, but that's beyond the point. We'll now begin!" Azaret said, placing his deck down on a slab of solid energy before him and drawing seven cards. C.J. looked down and saw the same thing was in front of him.

"…alright. If this is what gets me out of here and sends you packing, I'll show you what I can do!" said C.J., placing his own deck down and drawing his seven cards. Then, another card shot out of his deck, taking its place next to his deck: Aurelia, the Warleader.

"Aurelia…? But…" _Oh God, are we playing EDH rules?_

"Are you prepared?" asked Azaret.

"About as ready as I'll ever be. Game on!"

* * *

**C.J.: 40  
Azaret: 40**

"As the challenged party, I'll go first," said C.J. "And I'll start by playing a Plains-whoa!" As he set the card on the mysterious magic table, it suddenly lit up, transforming into a ball of white light.

"Ooh, pretty…" said Touka.

"Huh. Wasn't expecting that…" C.J. shook off his initial surprise. "Alright! I then tap that Plains to play my Boros Elite!" As he held out the card in question, the light shot into the card. It then shot into the air and transformed into an armored knight, wielding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, the Boros symbol emblazoned on his tabard. (1/1)

"Boros…I always did hate those justice-obsessed freaks…" Azaret growled. "I play a Forest." At once, a green orb appeared in the air in front of the Golgari.

C.J. drew his next card. "I play a Mountain! Now, Boros Elite attacks!" The armored monster shot forward, swinging his sword.

**Azaret: 39**

"I play a Swamp…" Azaret said calmly as he drew, a black orb now joining his green one.

"Kinda mellow for someone with no monsters six turns in…" said C.J." Plains, and then Elite attacks again!" The Boros soldier attacked once more, sword striking Azaret across the gut.

**Azaret: 38**

"Now then…" Azaret drew. "Swamp, then tap to play Sewer Shambler!" The mana shot into the card, which then zipped into the ground. A few seconds later, a large zombie with spore-like tendrils hanging off of its skin appeared. (2/1 Swampwalk)

"Eeeeeew!" Rinrin said, already going for her viper spear in reflex. Indeed, more than a few of the villagers stepped back in shock of the sight.

"Stay strong! Our Messenger will deal with that threat! Just be prepared in case the Turbans attempt to re-engage!" shouted Aisha.

_You say that now, but that was my last land I just played, _C.J. frowned. _I just hope I get more, because I won't be able to move much without that extra mana… _"I tap to play Boros Recruit!" A small armored Goblin appeared, wielding a sword and clad in armor. (1/1 First Strike) "And then I attack with the Elite again!"

"I block with Sewer Shambler!" said Azaret. The zombie and knight clashed in the middle and soon vanished.

"Nothing more to add here," said C.J. "Your move."

Azaret drew, and his frown grew. "I pass."

C.J. drew, looking at his next card. _Well, it's not land, but it's just as good as… _"I tap to play Boros Cluestone!" A large dark red stone marked with the Boros symbol appeared, hovering over his head. "I can tap it for red or white mana, or I can pay red and white mana to sacrifice it and draw a card. Boros Recruit, you're up! Smash Azaret's face in!"

The goblin cackled in glee, launching itself at Azaret as it swung its sword, hitting him in the knee.

**Azaret: 37**

"I'd crack a Skyrim joke, but I'd rather not," said C.J. "I'm done."

"Your wit doesn't impress me, _Messenger_," Azaret retorted. "Swamp, then tap to play Thrashing Mossdog!" A large dog appeared on the field, vines also growing out of its body. (3/3 Reach)

"Eeeeew!" Rinrin reiterated.

"Such foul creatures…it definitely bears the mark of black magic…" Aisha growled.

"Well, Thrashing Mossdog's a green spell, actually, but you're still right," said C.J., drawing. _Still no land? _"I tap to play Ordruun Veteran!" A large brown-furred minotaur stepped onto the field, roaring its challenge at the Mossdog. (3/1) "Turn end."

"Still having trouble with mana?" asked Azaret with a smirk. "Swamp, then tap out to play Golgari Rotwurm!" The ground rumbled, and suddenly a humongous snake-like creature with a dragon's maw appeared on the field, snarling at C.J. and his creatures, causing even more villagers to stumble back in awe of the monster's size. (5/4). "Turn end."

_He's not attacking? He knows my creatures can't go up against his…_ C.J. drew. "I tap to play Frontline Medic!" Another armored warrior with the Boros symbol appeared on the field, carrying a large shield and a short sword. (3/3) "Turn end."

Azaret drew. "I play a Forest. Then, I'll tap for black, green, and another black in order to bring out my Commander!"

_Dammit, already!? _C.J. asked in his head.

"Behold! VAROLZ, THE SCAR-STRIPED!" A large humanoid creature with dark green skin, his body covered in orange stripes across his body, possibly to highlight his scars, appeared on the field, his hair wildly flowing in the wind as it bellowed, armed with a crude dagger and a skull flail. (2/2 Commander)

"He's huge!" said Rinrin.

"And he doesn't look friendly!" added Touka.

"Now that Varolz has appeared, I can now use the Scavenge ability with any creature card in my graveyard by paying its mana cost! And in case you didn't know, it allows me to-"

"I know what it does," C.J. said curtly. "You pay the cost, exile a card out of the graveyard, and then add +1/+1 counters equal to its power to any creature in your battlefield. I was around when _Return to Ravnica_ was released."

Azaret glared, not liking C.J. interrupting his roll at all. "Well…if you're going to be that way, I'll just proceed and Scavenge with my Sewer Stalker, and add the counters to my Mossdog!" The Mossdog's vines shot into the ground, pulling bits and pieces of the Sewer Stalker's body into itself. With each part absorbed, the Mossdog grew in size and ferocity, howling as it finished its "meal." (5/5 Reach)

"That's…just disgusting…" groaned Aisha.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" agreed Touka.

"Now then, I'll attack with both my Rotwurm and my Mossdog!" The two creatures suddenly lunged forward, aiming right at C.J..

_Decision time! I need at least three creatures in play to use any Battalion effects to take the offensive advantage, but I can't afford to take that much damage or I'll be playing catch-up the whole duel through!_

"…Screw it. I block your Rotwurm with my Ordruun Veteran and my Recruit will block your Mossdog!" The goblin shot into action, attempting to pounce on the Mossdog with its sword, but the zombie hound was faster, knocking it the ground and landing a single bite, finishing it off as it turned into red and white sparkles. The Ordruun Veteran's fate was a bit more gruesome, as the minotaur attempted to charge the Rotwurm, but instead ran into the wurm's open maw. The wurm flung its meal into the air, and then finished it off with a single chomp.

"Yeesh," observed C.J. in disgust. "It's like Yu-Gi-Oh! crossed over with Mortal Kombat."

"…what in Jarad does that even mean!?" Azaret asked.

"Sorry, that's a small gamer's joke," C.J. said.

"You continue to wear on my nerves," Azaret snarled. "I end my turn."

C.J. drew, observing his hand. _I may have lost my two other monsters, but Frontline Medic is a 3/3, so blocking with his commander only puts him behind. _One card in particular caught his eye. _In that case, let's see if I can bait him._

"I attack with Frontline Medic!" The shield-bearing warrior charged, attempting to break the line of his enemy's creatures.

"I block with Varolz!" Azaret countered. As Varolz skidded in front of Azaret, the Frontline Medic raised his shield and thrust out with his sword, hitting his foe. However, the troll warrior remained. "Then I'll use his ability to sacrifice one of my creatures and regenerate him! So I offer my Rotwurm!" The scaled beast roared as it vanished, its essence entering Varolz and regenerating the injury, forming a new scar to add to the many he had.

"Tch…this is gonna be one of those days, huh?" C.J. groaned. "I end."

Azaret drew. "I'll play a Forest, then I'll use Varolz's effect to tap and scavenge my Rotwurm, giving Varolz 5 +1/+1 counters!" The Rotwurm briefly resurfaced before the vines attached to Varolz, allowing the troll to consume the wurm. (7/7 Commander) "Varolz and Thrashing Mossdog attack!"

"Aaaaaand he falls for it! I tap to play Boros Fury-Shield!" C.J. smirked, despite both humongous monsters bearing down on him and his Frontline Medic. "Now, not only do I prevent all the damage I would take from Varolz, but because I used red mana to cast it, I can throw all that damage back at him!" The bubble suddenly burned bright red and ignited, blasting outward to consume Varolz…

…except it stayed on the field.

"Regeneration effect, remember? I sacrificed my Mossdog to keep my commander in play," Azaret said.

"Well, that's kinda what I was shooting for, actually," C.J. grinned, drawing. "I tap to play Flame-Kin Zealot!" Suddenly, a large pillar of fire erupted before him, armor and gauntlet spontaneously forming as the flames formed a humanoid shape. (2/2) "And what's cool about this hotshot is that when he comes into play, all my creatures gain +1/+1 for the turn!" The Zealot roared, the Frontline Medic sharing in the battle cry. (4/4) "Medic, attack!"

The medic charged, dashing past Varolz and right at Azaret, swinging his sword at the Golgari mage's face.

**Azaret: 33**

"That's all from me," said C.J.

"Lucky shot," Azaret growled, drawing his next card. "First, I'll tap to play Golgari Signet!" A simple iron ring formed in his hand, bearing the skull mark of the Golgari. "Now, I can use it to turn one mana into black and green mana! Then I'll tap to play Golgari Grave-Troll!" A skeletal hand shot out of the ground, and an armored troll skeleton dug its way out of the ground. "And when it comes into play, it does so with +1/+1 counters equal to the creatures in my graveyard, which is currently two!" (2/2)

"I'm so scared," quipped C.J. "My Medic could beat that easy!"

"We'll see. I'll attack with Varolz!"

"Block with Flame-Kin Zealot!"

The troll and elemental faced off, the elemental using its burning fist, but Varolz was faster, smashing in the elementals chestplate, causing it to explode. C.J. drew, frowning at his new card. _I'm almost twenty turns in and I'm still in a mana crisis! The most I can do is try to whittle his forces down... _"I tap to play Wojek Halberdiers!" Two men in Boros attire wielding large halberds appeared on the field, joining their brethren in play. (3/2) "I attack with Frontline Medic!"

"Block with Golgari Grave-Troll!" The two monsters collided, but the Medic won out, smashing the skeleton's skull in and sending back into the ground.

"Then, instead of drawing this turn, I'll use my other Golgari ability! See, by milling a set number of cards off the top of my deck, I can take a monster with the Dredge ability in my graveyard and add it to the hand. So I'll mill six cards to Dredge my Grave-Troll…"

Six cards flew off the top of Azaret's deck, and one jumped back into his hand. "And then tap to replay him! And now after milling, there are now five creatures in my graveyard!" The skeletal warrior re-emerged from the ground, roaring a new challenge at C.J. (5/5)

"The Golgari gift that keeps on giving, huh," quipped C.J..

"And now Varolz will attack!" Varolz charged forward again, but surprisingly, neither of C.J.'s monsters moved, and he took the attack head-on, the skull flail smashing across C.J's head.

**C.J.: 33 (CD – 7)**

"Lord C.J.!" shouted Aisha.

"I'm good…" groaned C.J., slowly making his way back to his feet, clutching his head. "I'm okay…"

"That's seven Commander Damage inflicted onto you…if you take 21 Commander Damage, you'll automatically lose…meaning two more attacks with Varolz and I can bring an end to you and Shoku along with it!"

_Shoku? Is he talking about Shu? _C.J. thought, finally staggering to the table. _The brotherhood has been formed, but I haven't met the remaining Five Tiger Generals…is it possible this is before Shoku was formed? Then, why does he want to stop it forming?_

"Can't think about that now…gotta focus! Draw!" C.J. looked at the next card he drew. "…aw hell yeah! Time to turn the tide! I tap to invoke the Planeswalker, Ajani Vengeant!"

A huge eruption of white and red mana appeared, blinding everyone present except for C.J.. When it finally died away, a large white leonin, a breed of half-man half-great cat creature, had appeared on the field, wielding a huge double-headed axe. (LC: 3)

"Cool!" Rinrin said, looking at the cat warrior in awe.

"Majestic…" breathed Aisha.

"And if it's on C.J.-sama's side, he may win this!" Touka said happily.

"You…you summoned a Planeswalker!?" Azaret shouted, aware that most of the villagers were looking mighty impressed at Ajani's form and also possibly regaining their morale.

"Well, he is a white/red card, meaning he's playable in my deck for EDH rules," C.J. shrugged. "Anyway, I'll be using his +1 effect, meaning he gains a loyalty counter and your Varolz doesn't untap next turn!" Ajani roared, unleashing a blast of white and red mana at the troll, knocking it to the ground (LC: 4). "And then I'll end my turn right there."

"Summoning the leonin won't save you from your fate! I draw!" Azaret said, drawing. "Forest, and then tap to scavenge Deadbridge Goliath, adding 5 +1/+1 counters to Golgari-Grave Troll!" The skeleton jammed its hands into the ground, drawing on a huge mossy goliath beetle and attaching its body parts to it. (10/10) "Attack!"

C.J.'s eyes narrowed, watching the armored skeleton bare down on him. _I can't really afford to take a shot like that, but I can't run with just two monsters and play defensive, even with Ajani in play! I just have to bite the bullet and pray my deck starts liking me again…_

"No blockers!"

The troll skeleton dashed past the monsters again, this time landing a major blow against his chest. Something audibly cracked, probably a couple ribs, as C.J. fell to the ground, wheezing.

**C.J.: 23**

"No! C.J.-sama!" Touka cried out.

"Get up, onii-chan!" Rinrin shouted.

Aisha was more practical, trying to reach her master, but the rainbow barrier suddenly reacted, pushing her back and shocking her for her trouble. "Lord C.J…!"

"I'm okay…just got the wind knocked out of me…" C.J. finally began to move again, trying his hardest to sit up without touching his burning chest.

"You're rapidly running out of options, Boros! How do you hope to achieve victory when you're barely able to breathe!?" asked Azaret.

"Shut up…just let me play…" groaned C.J., picking up his next card from a kneeling position on the table. What he saw made him marginally happier. "Thank God…I finally play a Plains, and then use Ajani's freeze ability again, this time on your Grave-Troll…then I tap to play Seal of Fire," a large red magic circle appeared on the field next to Ajani as it unleashed another mana blast, forcing the skeleton to fall apart (LC: 5). "I'll…get back to that later, but I'll attack with my Halberdiers and my Frontline Medic…"

The two Boros monsters charged, the Medic dashing by with a mighty slash, leading for Azaret to face a pair of stabbing halberds that made him double over as well.

**Azaret: 27**

"You still stand!?" shouted Azaret.

"As long as I've got a good pair of legs," cracked C.J., finally getting back to his feet. This caused quite a few cheers among the villagers, happy to see their champion back on his feet.

"Well, I'll be sure to steal your legs when I kill you, maybe give them to someone a bit more useful," Azaret mused, drawing his next card. "I tap to play Sisters of Stone Death!" a trio of black and green-scaled gorgons, snake hair writhing as it hissed at their enemies. (7/5) "Now, Valroz! Attack!"

"Activate instant! Rally the Righteous!"

"What!?" Azaret shouted, as suddenly, sunlight shone down on the Wojek Halberdiers.

"With Rally the Righteous, I can untap one of my monsters, and then give it +2 power," said C.J. as his Halberdiers stood up, weapons ready. (5/2) "But, it also has one of the Boros abilities called Radiance, which makes it chain-react and affect monsters that share a color with it, so my Medic also gets the same effects!" The light suddenly rebounded, arcing like a rainbow, and came down on the Medic, also allowing it to stand up. (5/3)

"So what!? Your monsters still can't fight Varolz without dying themselves!"

"That won't be necessary. I block Valroz with my Halberdiers, and then tap what mana I have left for another instant, Smite! Now, any blocked creature I want is destroyed automatically!" C.J. let the card gather energy, and then he flung it at the troll, who took it full in the face.

"So naïve. I can still regenerate him by giving up my Gravetroll!" The armored skeleton slumped and then vanished, allowing the troll to shake off the spell.

"But, with him removed from combat per regeneration rules, my creatures are safe," C.J. reminded with a smirk. "That all you want to do?"

Azaret glared. "I end my turn."

C.J. drew, looking over at Ajani, then his hand. "Time for a little house cleaning, I think…first, I use Ajani's -2 effect, which deals 3 damage to a player or creature, and then I gain that life back! So, I'll be taking that life from your Sisters of Stone Death!" Ajani roared, this time conjuring bright white fire, and unleashing it at the gorgons, who cowered in the face of the attack as C.J. glowed, allowing him to breathe a little easier. (LC: 3)

**C.J.: 26**

"What will that accomplish? You little pet lion couldn't finish off my monster!" said Azaret.

"But, that's why I have something else to finish the job! I sacrifice the Seal of Fire I played last turn, and use it to finish off your Gorgons by dealing two damage to it!" With a snap of his fingers, the rune exploded in a gout of flame, destroying the snake creature.

"You son of a-" Azaret growled.

"Hey now, there's children present," C.J. cut in, jerking a thumb at Rinrin.

"Hey! I'm an adult, too, you know!" Rinrin pouted. C.J. merely shrugged, but by the look on Azaret's face, he was almost ready to unleash hell on him just to get him to stop his bad humor.

_One more line oughta be able to do it… _"Hey, let's hear your opinion, bone boy. Does Rinrin look like an adult to you?"

"THAT'S IT! EVERYONE DIES!" Azaret finally let out a furious shout.

"Finally, a human reaction. Let's build on that, shall we?" snarked C.J.. "I'm tapping out to play my Angelic Skirmisher!" Light blossomed on the field again, transforming into a beautiful winged woman with brown hair in armor, wielding a curved sword. (4/4 Flying) "And when she's on the field, each combat phase I can give all of my creatures First Strike, Vigilance, or Lifelink! So let's give my monsters Vigilance, and send them in! Attack Azaret!"

The Halberdiers and Medic charged again, swinging their weapons into Azaret for a full on attack.

**Azaret: 21**

"Ngh…grr…I'm going to drown you, Boros! I'm going to drown you like a sack of dumb puppies," Azaret growled as he milled another six cards. "I invoke Grave-Troll's Dredge ability-"

"EH!? Why would you drown puppies!?" Rinrin cut in, horrified.

"Because they're cute and cuddly!" Azaret snapped, silencing the viper spear wielder. "Then, I'll sacrifice a Forest and Swamp I have in play to add one of the milled cards to my hand!" Two of the green and black orbs before him turned back into cards, hitting the graveyard as a second card jumped to his hand. "Then, I'll tap to play him! JARAD, GOLGARI LICH LORD!"

A blast of green and black mana hit the battlefield, and from it came a robed undead elf, carrying a knobbly green staff of wood. (2/2) "And Jarad has an ability that gives him +1/+1 for every creature in my graveyard, of which there are seven!" Jarad raised his staff as the remains of a number of monsters suddenly went into his staff. (9/9)

"Seven!? But Sisters of Stone Death should've made it five and you Scavenged two of your monsters, so they don't count!" said C.J..

"I milled those monsters through my Grave-Troll's milling effect," explained Azaret as he threw his hand forward. "Now, I'll attack with Varolz again!"

C.J. raised his arms, ready to absorb the next attack. "No blockers!" The troll's axe hit him this time, striking him right in his damaged chest again. C.J. hit the ground, his own blood shooting into the air briefly.

**C.J.: 19 (CD – 14)**

"Onii-chan!" shouted Rinrin.

"Not again!" said Touka.

"Please get up, my lord!" Aisha encouraged.

"Working on it…good lord, that stings…" C.J. said, testing the large gash in his side. Upon seeing his fingers turn up red, he quickly spread his hand out on the table and got back up, although his knees were shaking heavily.

"Your time is almost at an end, Boros. One more strike from my Commander will end you and the hopes of Shoku with it!" said Azaret, grinning at the sight of his pained opponent.

"You're so certain of that, aren't you…but, I'm not through with you yet! I draw!" C.J. said, taking his next card. _I better end this soon. The blood loss might get me faster than Azaret will if this drags on any longer… _"I tap to play Gleam of Battle! With this enchantment in play, every creature that attacks gains a +1/+1 counter each time they do! Then, I use Ajani's +1 effect to stun Valroz!"

Ajani brought down the lightning once again, blowing back the troll into a sitting position. (LC: 4) "And now I send all three of my monsters to attack! Angelic Skirmisher, give all the monsters Vigilance again!" The angel charged forward, taking the head of the attack as the Boros monsters thundered towards Azaret. "And now that three monsters are attacking, my Medic and Halberdiers' Battalion effects get to kick in! Now, not only do my Halberdiers get First Strike, but my Medic makes all of my monsters indestructible!"

"I have no choice…Jarad will block your Halberdiers!" Jarad quickly got in the way of the pikemen, sending them back with a burst of black magic, allowing the Medic and the Angelic Skirmisher to get in and strike him.

**Azaret: 14**

"Just a little bit more…" sighed C.J.. "I just need one more turn to end this, I think…"

"If you're lucky, that is!" Azaret said, drawing. "I tap to replay my Golgari Grave-Troll!" the troll skeleton appeared once again (7/7). "Then, I tap to play Rolling Spoil! Now, I'll destroy one of your Plains!" A ball of light shattered, turning back to a card as it fell into the pile. "Plus, because I tapped for black mana to play it, your monsters all get -1/-1!" The three monsters suddenly sagged, weakened by a wave of black mana. "Jarad! Attack!"

The elven lich raised his staff, and then hurled a hex at C.J.. He merely narrowed his eyes and said two words. "No blockers." The magical blast connected, and he went down for a third time. "Ugh…"

**C.J.: 10**

"Come on, C.J.-sama! You can't give up now! You're so close!" said Touka.

C.J.'s hand went up, trying to reach for something to help him stand back up, but fell back as he writhed on the ground with a small whimper, causing a few murmurs among them and Aisha and Touka to share a worried look. Rinrin, though, happened to see C.J.'s greatsword nearby. Taking the weapon from the ground, a weapon twice her size at least, without even so much as flinching at the weight, she proceeded to heave it towards C.J., somehow clearing the barrier, and landing point-first right next to him. "Onii-chan! Use this!"

C.J. looked up, seeing himself in the blade's reflection, bloodied, battered, bruised, broken half to hell and back. And then for a moment, he thought he saw someone else there, an elderly woman with short gray hair and round glasses. She merely nodded, but when C.J. checked to see who was there, she was gone.

_Grandma? Was that you? I know I usually say you're my guardian angel now…but…_

More shouts of encouragement came out of the mob of villagers.

"Get up, Messenger! We believe in you!"

"Master C.J.! Don't let this bastard attack our village again! You can stop him right here!"

"C.J.! C.J.!"

As a mighty chant began to go up, C.J. grinned as he reached up, grasping the hilt of the sword, and with a mighty heave, used it to push himself, slowly and unbalanced, back to his feet. Cheers went up again from the crowd, so he gave his friends a quick wave to show he was alright. "Screw the Pro Tour…if I wasn't getting bashed around like the Sharks during the last Stanley Cup playoffs, I'd almost be enjoying this even more…"

"You won't be enjoying much of anything else once I'm done with you-"

"Oh, just shut up!" C.J. snapped, stumbling back to the table. "I'm tired of your yakking…that's all you do, yakk it up like a really bad anime villain…but you know what, I've had it up to here with you! So game on, ya freak, because I ain't stopping at just kicking your undead ass!" With that, he took his next card.

_I've only got five mana to work with…if I don't get a land I can use right away, then my fate is sealed! Let's hope someone upstairs still likes me…!_

He turned the card over, looking at it.

"…thanks, Grandma. This is just what I needed!" he grinned. "I pay 2 life to play an untapped Sacred Foundry!" The image of a humongous working forge appeared behind him, colored bright gold with red and white accenting of the Boros, shot up behind him.

**C.J.: 8**

"With my mana in working order, it's time for me to finally get this thing done with! I now tap out to bring out MY Commander!" A card shot out of the deck as the mana swirled around it, raising into the air as gold fire erupted from it.

"_Her wings blaze with righteous fury! With burning sword in hand, she casts down those who are wicked! May all who are evil fear her coming, for justice shall be served at last! Behold, the Guildmaster of the Boros! AURELIA, THE WARLEADER!_"

The plume of flame suddenly surged down to the ground, unleashing a mighty wind even through the barrier. Two large golden wings appeared amidst the fire, and finally, a woman was revealed as the flames blew away, clad in burgundy and silver armor, wielding a gold-handled sword and a spear in the other. (3/4 Flying, Haste, Vigilance)

"The Guildmaster herself…!?" choked Azaret.

"The new one, after Razia was killed off and Feather was sent away," nodded C.J.. "And because she has haste, I can go and attack with her right away! But first, we need to do something about that troll. I invoke Ajani's -2 effect, dealing 3 damage to that Grave-Troll of yours and getting that back as life!" Ajani unleashed the white fire again, sending the monster staggering back.

**C.J.: 11 **

"Now, to let the battle commence! I attack with all of my monsters, and use my Angelic Skirmisher to give everyone First Strike! And with the Medic's ability, all my creatures are Indestructible!" C.J. said.

"_Everyone! To me!_" Aurelia commanded, leading the charge against Azaret.

"I use my Grave-Troll to block your Frontline Medic!" Azaret said. Despite the medic being entangled, C.J's other monsters charged the Golgari guildmage and sent him to the ground in a cloud of swords.

**Azaret: 2 (CD – 3)**

"Nice try…" Azaret grinned, getting right back up. "But it looks like you won't be finishing this duel just yet…"

C.J. merely smiled. "You didn't hear the best part. See, Aurelia has this nifty ability that I think makes her worth six mana…at the end of the first combat phase she fights in, I get to untap all my monsters and then get a second combat phase, meaning I get to do it all over again!"

Azaret's jaw dropped, his eyes widening as Aurelia and the Angelic Skirmisher took flight again, and the two Boros monsters stood up as well. "No…wait…have mercy…!"

"Sorry. No mercy for the wicked." C.J. shook his head, raising his sword into the air. "Angelic Skirmisher, give my monsters Lifelink! BOROS LEGION! CHAAAAAARGE!"

The four monsters charged, blowing past the undead monsters. Azaret screamed as the monsters pounced on him, swords and pikes striking him all at once and finally defeating him.

"At last…" C.J. said, taking a knee to finally rest as he leaned on his sword. "Justice is done."

**C.J.: 31  
Azaret: 0**

**C.J. WINS!**

* * *

Azaret stumbled back, clutching at his wounds as C.J. looked on, trying to catch his breath. "This isn't over…I will be back for you, Boros!"

"Bring it on, Undertaker-wannabe," C.J. said. "As long as I'm here, you and your Yellow Turban buddies are going to be beaten. Every time. Unless you'd like to try again…?"

Azaret sneered, black and green fire swirling around him. "I'm going to enjoy flaying you. Next time…" And with that, he disappeared into the inferno, and in the blink of an eye, vanished. The rainbow barrier lifted, allowing Aisha, Touka, and Rinrin to grab him before he fainted. And that's when he heard the shout.

"Look at that! They're running away!"

"We've won!"

"UUOOOOH!" A mighty roar went up from the villagers, raising their weapons in victory. That was all C.J. could remember, before falling asleep in Touka's arms.

* * *

C.J. woke up right as Touka Village came back into view. Shaking his head, he realized Aisha was carrying him. Aisha. Carrying somebody probably a hundred pounds heavier than her and taller than her to boot. "Gwah-!? Aisha?"

"Milord, you're awake!" Aisha said.

"Good morning, onii-chan!" said Rinrin.

"Yeah, morning guys," C.J. mumbled, standing as Aisha let him drop. "Where's Touka?"

"She went on ahead to tell everyone the good news."

"So we won, then."

"Yup!" Rinrin beamed. "The Yellow Turbans are gone and we saved the village! And that guy who killed off all our guys with that black Doom thingy, he's gone, too!"

C.J. blinked, vaguely remembering the Doom Blade that led him to finding Azaret. "Oh yeah…that guy…"

Finally crossing into the village, he saw that Touka had brought the other villages to hail their conquering heroes, smiling and cheering and crying happily as they came home. For a moment, C.J. was happy, happy at the sight of the happy ending that everyone deserved.

Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky. War's toll had claimed many lives, and the sight of people learning the fate of their fallen loved ones quickly made the happy feeling sour. He almost didn't want to be around them anymore, unable to cope with having (indirectly) caused those families pain.

"…what's wrong, onii-chan?" C.J. looked over, seeing Rinrin poking him.

"Nothing…" C.J. mumbled.

"You still look really pale…was it that scary for you?"

"Yeah…" C.J. felt Rinrin pull him aside to sit on a nearby landing. "…how do you do this? How do you live with fighting like this constantly? Doesn't it bother you at all?"

Rinrin tilted her head, considering it. "It does, but it doesn't."

"…zuh?" asked C.J..

"Killing innocent people, that bothers me. But the people Rinrin fought today were bad guys. You saw what they did to these people, right? Rinrin wants to protect everyone from those kind of guys. That's why I decided to fight with Aisha-neechan and Touka-neechan. That's why doesn't bother me. Ne?"

"That's what I thought," nodded C.J.. "…Heaven's different, ya know? All the battles and wars that we fight seem so far away by comparison. Battles like these are only spoken of in legend. All of those people out there fought their hardest out there and while I went out there and fought with the best of them…I'm just not cut out for this kind of life. That's what I meant back then, when I said I'm not the guy you want to be Messenger of Heaven."

"Don't think like that, onii-chan!" said Rinrin. "You went out there and you fought those bad guys! And you beat that Azaret guy up real good. Rinrin would like to do that, but even though Rinrin can't. But you can! You can fight the battles nobody can. That's why you're the Messenger of Heaven. At least, that's what Rinrin thinks…"

C.J. smiled, giving the small girl next to her a hair ruffle. "I guess that is true."

As he went over to go find Aisha, suddenly Touka appeared. Judging from her proximity from him and Rinrin, she'd probably been eavesdropping on the whole thing. "Anything you'd like to add, Touka?"

"I don't have to, C.J.-sama," said Touka. "Just look over there."

Following Touka's gaze, he saw one of the villagers, covered in a few bandages, making his way to a female villager, finally embracing each other in tearful bliss. A minute later, the two of them placed her hand on her stomach, a tell-tale sign if there ever was one.

And to C.J., that scene alone made the whole battle suddenly worth it.

"Yeah…I think I get it now…"

* * *

As the sun rose the next day, C.J. had decided to take breakfast out into the forest, stopping in a glade not far from the village. It was a peaceful place, with sunlight shining through the trees and lighting up the dew-laden grass and the trees around him. If he ever came back here, it would be a nice place to come back to when he wasn't fighting or doing more tales of derring-do, even as he settled into a post-breakfast nap.

"Ah, so you've made it this far."

C.J.'s eyes sprang open, looking around for the source of the voice, and found him not far from where he was sleeping. A figure that C.J. recognized instantly, although now he was dressed much differently than when he met him before, dressed in a white robe and arcane markings of some sort he couldn't recognize on the hem of it. It was also all over his hands, feet, and even one side of his neck.

"You son of a bi-" C.J. began, reaching for his greatsword, but suddenly everything around him halted, and he found himself frozen in place, but by what he couldn't see.

"I mean you no harm," the man said. "But if you continue to attack me I will do much more to you than halt the stream of time around you. Much more. Are we agreed?"

C.J. was released from his bond, although everything else remained still. "Who are you?"

"I am Zylaer, master of time. And though our powers are different, they draw from the same source," the old man said.

C.J. blinked, wondering what exactly he meant by that, but when he mused on the second part, he understood, and the revelation made him draw his greatsword anyway, although he did not attack with it. "Heavens to Gretzky, you're a planeswalker!"

"Indeed," Zylaer nodded.

"If you're a planeswalker and you've made it here to where I am, you know something I don't, old man, and considering all the crap I've had to deal with thus far, I'm this close to taking this greatsword and stabbing some answers out of you," C.J. threatened. "So start talking now, old man, before you really get me going."

Zylaer merely touched the zweihander's tip, and the blade began to slowly rust before C.J.'s eyes. "You're quite arrogant. If you would like to know the truth, all you need to do is ask."

"The last time we met, you helped a guy steal an 1800-year-old mirror who also threw me into a wall! I've still got bruises on my back from that fight!" C.J. countered, yanking the blade away. At once, it returned to normal. "So pardon me if I feel like you're not exactly holding my best interests in mind."

"The one you speak of and I merely had an alliance of convenience," Zylaer said. "But now that you have started the cycle again, that is no longer the case."

"What cycle?"

"That is not important now. What is important, though, is that you understand your role in the events to come, and what it is that you should seek to obtain."

C.J. had the sense that Zylaer was telling the truth and wasn't about to attack him, so he stuck his sword in the ground. "Okay…elaborate for me. What am I here for?"

"To win the grand prize…" Zylaer said. "The power of an entire plane at your fingertips."

"…I don't get it."

"Do you think you are the only one who might have a connection to this prophecy of the Messenger of Heaven? There are 108 stars who descended from Heaven, brought here by the breaking of the mirror, and you are one of them. In so being exposed to the mirror's power and the Blind Eternities as a result, you now command magical power, and the magic now exists in those cards you carry."

"So that's why I hit that guy with a Warleader's Helix? I can bring out the magic in my cards now?"

"Indeed."

"And what, am I supposed to defeat them a la 'there can be only one?'"

"Not necessarily. The grand prize goes to the one who can unite the kingdoms."

C.J. blinked. "So what, my role is to ally myself with a particular faction and take over the country with it?"

"Yes. If you can bring this fated story to a proper ending, then you shall inherit the plane's power. What that is, no one has yet figured out. That, my friend, is up to you."

With that, Zylaer vanished from his sight, and time resumed around him a leaf suspended in the air fluttered past him. Realizing the threat had passed, C.J. sheathed his greatsword and sighed, right as Touka called out to him. "C.J.-sama!"

"Touka? What's the word?" he asked.

"Come with me! There's something villagers want to ask you!"

* * *

Touka led the way back through the forest and to the village, where he found the village headman and a group of other villagers waiting for him expectantly. Aisha and Rinrin were also there. Adjusting his jacket, C.J. asked again, "So, what's the word?"

"C.J.-sama…" the headman said. "We are forever in your debt for your brave work against the Yellow Turbans."

"There's no need for that. I'm just happy to see justice done," said C.J., waving it off.

"Oh, but there is!" the headman insisted. "Which is why we've come up with the idea of naming you our Chief Magistrate."

"…zuh? Chief Magistrate?" C.J. asked in confusion.

"A Chief Magistrate is an appointee of the Imperial Court, who levies taxes and watches over the welfare of the people in this area," Aisha explained.

"What happened to the old one?" C.J. asked.

"When the Yellow Turbans attacked, the other guy ran away," Rinrin explained. "So we needed a new one, and we decided to suggest you!"

C.J. groaned, kneading his forehead at that. "Somehow, I'm not surprised…"

"It's not as though we have better options, milord," said Aisha. "We've already sent word to Luoyang, and even they did send a replacement he wouldn't be here for a couple of weeks at least. I know it is sudden, but we're willing to help you out in this. All you need to do is ask…"

C.J. considered it. On the one hand, he had no idea what being a Chief Magistrate was like and how exactly he was expected to run a government, even it was a small one like the local province. And if there were any more people around like Azaret in the world, which seemed a lot more likely with what Zylaer had told him, he needed to be out in the world defending the province against them.

On the other hand, the last battle had made it clear he wasn't suited for being on the battlefield. At least not yet. And the best way he could help everyone in the town was to make sure that they were getting what they needed to help keep the province going, especially with these chaotic times around them.

"…very well then. If that's what you feel is best, then I'll try my hand at it and see what happens," said C.J.. A loud cheer went up from the crowd before him. "And for my first order of business, I'd like to name Ryuubi Gentoku as vice-magistrate."

"Eh!?" Touka suddenly stiffened at C.J.'s words.

"Touka, I know this is a bit sudden, but if I'm going to do this, I'd like to have someone I trust helping me out. Besides, I know it'll make Aisha happy knowing I'll be shadowing you, making sure you're going to be ready to take a swing at being Emperor one day."

"That actually would make me happy, Lord C.J.," said Aisha with a grin.

Touka looked from C.J. to Aisha for a moment before bobbing her head in acknowledgement. "If that is the case, then I will happily do my best."

C.J. clapped his hands, satisfied. "Excellent. Second order of business, I'd like to name Chouhi Yokutoku and Kanu Unchou as the generals for our new army. We're going to need standing forces to make sure those Yellow Turbans don't attack us again in a rush, and we need to make sure our guys are in fighting shape for when they do. Kanu and Chouhi are second to none in a fight and I trust their judgment."

"I will do my best, milord," Aisha said with a polite bow.

"Same for me, onii-chan!" Rinrin added.

"And for my final bit…and the most important one of all," C.J. said, drawing his sword and sticking it in the ground. "is to get to work rebuilding this village. We got a whole lot of work to do and a lot less time to do it in, so everybody grab tools and let's get to it!"

A loud cheer went up from the villagers as they went off about their tasks to start rebuilding their village with aplomb. C.J. grinned, leaning on his blade.

"Maybe I can hack this after all…"

* * *

_Powers of the Aethermages_

**Landwalk – **An ability that allows creatures to become unblockable if the player controls a certain land type. The most common walking abilities are plainswalk, islandwalk, swampwalk, mountainwalk, and forestwalk.

**Reach **– An ability that lets creatures block flying creatures as though they had flying themselves.

**Scavenge **– An ability unique to the Golgari. By paying the mana cost, a card uses its Scavenge ability to exile itself from the graveyard and then give +1/+1 counters equal to its power. Revealed in the _Gatecrash _set.

**Regenerate – **By paying the cost, a creature that would be destroyed loses all damage, therefore staying on the field, and is removed from that combat phase.

**Dredge X – **An ability unique to the Golgari. Instead of drawing, the player can mill X cards from their deck, and then put the card into their hand. Revealed in the _Ravnica: City of Guilds _set.

**Radiance – **An ability unique to the Boros. Cards that target with the Radiance ability also affect other creatures that share its color(s). Revealed in the _Ravnica: City of Guilds _set_._

**Flying – **One of the most common abilities. Creatures with flying cannot be blocked except by other flying creatures and creatures with the Reach ability.

**Vigilance – **A creature with vigilance does not tap to attack, meaning it can also block after it attacks.

**Indestructible – **Creatures that are indestructible cannot be destroyed if they are hit with lethal damage or spells and abilities that destroy.

**First Strike – **One of the most common abilities. First Strike allows creatures to do damage before creatures without it, meaning their enemies cannot inflict damage unless they also have First Strike.

**Battalion – **An ability unique to the Boros. Creatures with Battalion have their effects activated when three or more monsters attack during the same combat phase. Revealed in the _Gatecrash _set.

**Haste: **One of the most common abilities, mostly used by red creatures. Creatures with Haste can attack or use tapping abilities on the turn they are summoned.

**Lifelink: **Whenever a creature attacks with lifelink attacks, the controller gains life equal to the damage inflicted.


	3. Hawawa, Awawa, Mahna Mahna

**Draw 3: Hawawa, Awawa, Mahna Mahna**

Sousou Moutoku had seen better days.

Now, that's a bit of an unfathomable thing to say, really. After all, despite being the _shishi_ of the city of Chinryu, "shishi" being a fancy way of saying "the local sheriff," she was largely the most powerful woman in the whole region, for one built so petite as her. However, in the last couple of weeks, she'd suddenly found herself in some…difficulties. Nothing involving famine or bandits, that stuff she could handle with ease, especially considering she had the help of her two aides, Kakoen and Kakoton. No, this particular problem was a bit more complex.

See, she'd heard rumors of the Messenger of Heaven prophecy, but never really considered it seriously until she picked up a strange young man in the middle of nowhere after a particularly long expedition in Chinryu's eastern lands. And therein was part one of the problem.

Ian Wendells was a strange individual, garbed in a black shirt with a symbol he described as the "mark of the Planeswalker," a red hooded jacket, and jeans, his blonde hair neatly combed, Ian appeared to be a civilized gentleman at first glance. But, when Sousou went to meet him herself, he proceeded to utter the following words.

"The great Cao Cao is a goddamn LOLI!?"

To say Sousou didn't take it that well was an understatement, as she promptly snapped and kicked Ian in the balls, and then had him hauled off for questioning.

To be fair, she didn't treat him too badly following that. She fed him, at least. In return, Ian explained that he was from a country called the United Kingdom, and was on his way to another country called Belgium to compete in the Pro Tour when he'd been whisked away to wherever he was now. He took the opportunity to show her the deck of cards he'd been carrying to explain what he was going on about. Realizing the similarities of his story, Sousou decided to take her newfound Messenger of Heaven into the fold as a "consultant."

That was two weeks ago, and if it weren't for the fact that Ian had already proven to be extremely effective with his abilities, she'd probably have thrown him out for all the times he called her "loli" unironically or implied it. She didn't need any more stress with trying to put Ian in his place constantly.

Then there was part two of the problem. A young girl by the name of Juniku, true name Keifa, who was the supervisor of supplies and materials for the army, had cut her provisions for the next campaign in half without warning. And the reason why? Well, she apparently had a plan that would allow Sousou to win in only half the time, and wanted to use it to prove her worth. Sousou decided to give it a go, at least for humor's sake, and if it failed, Keifa, would get the scythe.

So there they were, Ian, Sousou, and Keifa, standing in front of a fortress, with no more than 400 soldiers out of the 1200 they brought with them, prepared to fight against 2000 Yellow Turbans. Needless to say, Ian wasn't all that thrilled. "Alright, ladies, unless we have a good reason not to, let's crank this jalopy and see what she does."

Juniku glared at Ian for a moment before raising a gong in her hand and banging on it a couple of times. For a moment, nothing happened as the gong's sound echoed, ringing through the valley. And then, the doors opened, as a swarm of Yellow Turbans came pouring out like a stream of rats smelling dead tissue. Sousou frowned. "Keifa? Was this part of your strategy?"

"No…this is actually unexpected…" Keifa said, deflating a little.

"Did they mistake the gong as an order to deploy?"

"…Yes, it appears so."

"Why, were you about to think of how to apply that cutting wit of yours?" Ian asked, mildly amused despite the situation. "I'd personally leave them all a keg of Guinness as an opener. People get pissed off easier when they're drunk."

Sousou rolled her eyes. "In these times, it's usually a formality. Not necessarily impressive, but I'll be sure to do that for our next encounter with the enemy."

"Of course it is," said Ian. "Meanwhile, what exactly is the plan for those 2000 and some-odd Yellow Turban chaps moving like the devil down the road toward us?"

Sousou merely took up her scythe as Ian prepared a handful of his cards. "A small miscalculation, but irrelevant to the whole scheme. Deflect the enemy attack and begin a defensive retreat! Mister Wendells, I assume you'll be providing us with covering fire to facilitate our escape?"

"Can't collect my money if I'm dead, yeah?" Ian said, flashing Sousou a few cards he had on hand. "Kii, darling, I think we can use a bit of that skill of yours for this next maneuver!"

Kyocho Chuukou, true name Kii, was a girl about the size of an eight-year-old who carried around a flail almost the size of her. "Ready to go, nii-chan!"

Ian smirked as he selected one of the cards in his hand and proceeded to raise it, watching it collect black-colored mana before launching it forward. "DOOM BLADE!"

A stream of black magic, not unlike the one Azaret used in the battle for Touka Village, cut a deadly swathe through the air, colliding with the center of the enemy formation and sending dead Yellow Turbans flying through the air. "Right then! Get in there!"

With a speed and ability that defied her small size and humongous weapon, Kii leapt into the fray, swinging her flail. Like a miniature tornado, she sent her enemies flying every which way, with Ian not far behind with a plague of Septic Rats to slow the enemy further, allowing her to swiftly retreat with Ian and the rest.

As they came down the road to rejoin with their forces, as well as to get out on open ground, Ian spared a look up at a nearby cliff on the mountain road. According to the plan, Kakoen and Kakoton would be waiting there, the former with her archer squad and the latter with the remainder of their cavalry, which would assault the enemy and get them on two sides. Sure enough, a hail of arrows came flying down, pelting the remaining Turbans.

"There we go!" Ian said. And right on cue, a formation of cavalry, with the Kakoton banner flying proudly at the head, came flying in from the rear, blindsiding the enemy on two fronts.

"As expected of Shuuran," Sousou said proudly. "She's performing admirably."

"Eh? What about Shunran?" asked Kii.

"Don't you think she got greedy and tried to attack when the enemy reached her side, but Kakoen held her back?" Keifa replied.

"…that really wouldn't surprise me, honestly," said Ian.

"…I don't really feel happy with my opinion being the same as yours," Keifa frowned at Ian.

Ian merely smirked again. "Oh come off it, I can't help it if I'm arguably as brilliant as you."

"That's enough out of both of you," Sousou said, cutting in to stop her Messenger and tactician from trying to attack each other. "This is our best opportunity to crush them. I suggest we take it."

"Yes!" Keifa nodded.

"Yes marm," Ian said, cracking his knuckles.

"Kii, I look forward to seeing your prowess."

"You got it!" said Kii, preparing her flail.

Taking a moment to compose herself, she then pointed forward with her scythe. "Troops, about face! Show them how those with numbers alone fail against better strategy! All units, attack!"

At once, Sousou's army turned on their heels, pointed their spears and charged, colliding with the wave of Yellow Turbans. At once, a burst of lighting cracked over the Turban's heads, striking their forces, but Ian merely grinned as a single man came down the road to rejoin his forces.

"Well then! Looks like you get to see my party trick after all! Kii, cut me a path to him, it's time to earn my paycheck!"

"Sure thing, nii-chan!" said Kii, immediately changing direction and sending Yellow Turbans bowling as she carved out a path for the Messenger, who followed in her wake, casting the odd spell to make sure they reached their destination.

"Fall back, the enemy! Ian Giles Wendells to the fray! A servant of Her Loliness, Sousou Moutoku, is what I am, 'tis death to stand before me! Particularly in line for dinner, wot! Forward the blues!"

Sousou groaned, trying to not let her displeasure at Ian's word choice show on her face. By hook or by crook, that Messenger of Heaven of hers would be the death of her one day.

* * *

Meanwhile, far to the northeast, C.J. was busy fighting a foe of his own: paperwork.

Since becoming the new Chief Magistrate, C.J. had been spending a lot of time cooped up in the prefect's castle, trying to maintain a level of working order between the four cities in the region he was now mostly in charge of. Add that to having the "bright" idea of asking Aisha to help train him for further battles beyond any other battles with the likes of Azaret, he barely had any free time to himself anymore.

And any he did have only made the paperwork worse. At this point, he was absolutely certain it breeded, because it almost doubled in size every time his back was turned. At the very least, it was nice to have the crash course in the Chinese language. Having studied Japanese in the past, it wasn't that hard to make the jump. Tedious, but not terribly difficult.

Today, though, was relatively different. For some strange reason, Touka wasn't at her usual station. Knowing Aisha was probably going to lay into her for going off on her own and then lay into him for letting her, C.J. decided he would find her and save them both the trouble. As he made his way down out of the castle, down the stone path and into the village proper, he could see a huge mob gathered near the village gate.

_Huh. What's that all about?_

Crossing through the main street, he suddenly picked up the sight of Aisha also overlooking the group there. As he got closer, he saw that the mob was composed of children, and at the center of the group, her head barely visible among the sea of heads already there, was Touka.

"Master-ah! Someone touched my butt!" Touka said, trying to wade through the mass of children to greet C.J..

"Wasn't me!"

"I didn't do it!"

"Lies, because…ah!? Don't pull my skirt!"

"I get the feeling this is why my Vice-Magistrate didn't show up to work today?" C.J. asked Aisha.

"More or less. She's been like this most of the morning," Aisha nodded.

"Play with us, Ryuubi-sama!"

"I can't, I'm not here to play! We're…in order to protect everyone's peace…"

This put the children off for a moment, one of them, a small boy off to Touka's right, gave a small sob. Almost immediately, Touka reversed her original opinion. "So, what should we play, then? How about tag?"

"We were worried you were handling everything by yourself," Aisha continued. "So I see you came down to see for yourself?"

"More or less. Besides, I could do with a bit more exercise. Sitting around all day just makes me itch," C.J. shrugged. "Hopefully this won't make the workload even bigger…oh, who am I kidding, of course it's gonna get bigger."

"Aisha-chan! Master…!"

"Has she forgotten that I don't like people calling me that?" C.J. sighed.

"It's a matter of formality than anything else, Lord C.J.," said Aisha. "Even though we respect your wishes, as her teacher, it's important to establish that kind of relationship between you two."

"Then she should just call me teacher or sensei. Ain't nothing wrong with that," said C.J.. "You can go on ahead, Aisha, I'll deal with this."

"With all due respect, Lord C.J., I'd rather not."

"Aisha-chaaaan…!"

"Whatever for? You're not expecting assassins or other guys like Azaret, are you? Touka's position is relatively minor, all things considered…" C.J. asked.

"I know chances are slim, but there's no reason not to be careful."

"As far as I'm concerned, with you on lookout and me with my handful of protection spells, we're safe either way."

"You don't know that. I don't plan to lose to anyone in battle, but I'm pretty sure that's not all I'm needed for here."

"Someone touched my butt again!"

C.J. chuckled. This was actually pretty good comedy playing out before him. "They're kids, Aisha. It's not like strength is needed all the time."

"This happens quite a bit, now more so than ever," Aisha said. "Getting stopped by people in the streets. And if there's children involved, there's not much you can do until they're sated."

"Which is usually never."

"Exactly."

"But that's only because Touka is Touka. And everybody loves Touka."

"Which is why Rinrin and I devoted our spears to her in the first place. In the end, all people desire one thing…a compassionate leader who will protect them. Don't you think so, Lord C.J.?"

C.J. nodded sagely. "Coincidentally, Aisha, so do I."

"Aisha-chaaaaan, stop them please…!"

"Play with us, Ryuubi-sama!"

"But I need to be on patrol…"

"Give it up, Touka, you're not gonna steer them away," C.J. called. "…then again, I doubt we'll be doing much of anything else today…"

Suddenly, a grin not unlike that of a shark smelling blood appeared on Aisha's face. "Very well then. Children! This man will be your playing partner!"

"Uwah-!?" An ungraceful sound fell out of C.J.'s mouth. "Aisha!?"

"Really!?" asked Touka happily, finally glad for some helping hands. "Come on! Let's play with onii-chan!"

"That just makes it worse!" C.J. shouted.

"Who is that?" asked one of the other children.

"Some old guy we don't know!"

C.J. shook his head, turning around, looking mock-insulted. "Who called me old!?" The child in question, a little girl probably no older than seven, raised her hand tentatively. C.J. grinned, picking her up and putting her on his shoulders. "I'm C.J.. I'm a friend of Touka and Aisha, you see."

"You're a friend of Ryuubi-sama?"

"Yup! And any friend of Touka's is a friend of mine," C.J. nodded. "So…what exactly are we gonna be playing today?" Looking down, he was suddenly aware of all the children staring at him.

"Let's play tag!" another child pipes up.

"Um, okay, janken!" Touka said. "We need to decide who's it!"

Looking over, he saw Aisha still standing there, watching the scene. An evil grin appeared on C.J.'s face. "Aisha-chan! Why don't you join us?"

Aisha's eyes widened. "Wha…!?" Looking at the sea of sparkling eyes before her, Aisha decided not to fight the issue. "Well…if it's only for a little while…"

"Excellent!" grinned C.J.. "And all you guys can call as many as friends as you like!"

* * *

The next day was back to business.

"Guys! Guys!" Rinrin came dashing into the main room.

"Whoa, Rinrin, where's the fire?" C.J. asked, standing up from his desk.

"Eh? What fire?" Rinrin asked, tilting her head and looking at C.J..

"Never mind, it's an American thing," C.J. said, waving it off. "Anyway, what's the ruckus about?"

"It's the Yellow Turbans! They've attacked one of our outposts!"

This immediately got his attention, as he motioned for Aisha and Touka to come over from where they were nearby. "Right then. Talk me through this. You got a sitrep for me? …situation report," he added, seeing Rinrin's confused look.

"Yeah, over here," Rinrin said, going over to the map of province laid out in the center of the room. "According to the messenger, the one they attacked was…this one over here," she pointed to one on their northwestern border. "He also said that his master, Kousonsan, was on her way back to Ryosei district over here, but then set up camp here to block them and stop them moving in to our territory. But she needs reinforcements, because if she loses any more engagements she'll have to pull back her forces!"

C.J. nodded, looking at the areas Rinrin indicated before turning back to Aisha. "Aisha, how many men do we need to keep here to protect the city and the areas roundabout?"

"No less than 3000, I assume," said Aisha. "Most of the surrounding areas have been relatively quiet concerning Yellow Turban activity, so the only real threat would be from local bandits and highwaymen, nothing that should overly concern us."

"Our forces have been training hard," Rinrin agreed. "Small fry like that should be no problem for them!"

C.J. nodded. "And what's the current number of our forces?'

"Some 9000, Lord C.J.."

"Then let's split the difference a little here. We're gonna go with 4000 to remain here and maintain the peace, and 5000 is the number we'll take to help Kousonsan. Time is of the essence, so let's try to have everyone equipped and ready by midday. Touka, I need you to make sure we're well-provisioned for this. I expect we'll be on the road for a while and our boys won't march far on an empty stomach."

"Of course, Master!" Touka said. Despite the title, C.J. didn't press her about it.

"I'll quickly lay out some contingency plans so this place doesn't grind to a halt in the meantime," C.J. finished. "So get your gear and whatever stuff you need to do ready. We're gonna be gone for a while."

* * *

Just as C.J. hoped, the army was ready and on the move even before the sun had hit its zenith. It would take some time before they would reach Kousonsan's camp, though, so they decided to move at a brisk but steady pace across the countryside. While C.J. had also been learning to ride a horse with Aisha in addition to their normal training, there weren't that many horses to go around, and C.J. insisted that they be given to Aisha and Touka.

"I hope Pairen-chan's okay…" mumbled Touka.

"You know Kousonsan?" asked C.J..

Touka nodded. "We went to the same primary school together."

"Huh," C.J. said, formulating what his next question should be. "What's she like?"

"If I had to put Pairen-chan in a word, it'd be…average."

C.J. blinked. "What? That's it? Just…average?"

"Well, she's kinda plain. And forgettable. Sometimes, I think our teacher forgot she was there sometimes, she just…blends in," Touka explained.

"Funny way of putting it, all things considered," said Aisha. "After all, Kousonsan-dono is often called the White Horse General. Her skill with cavalry is renowned and she is quite a skilled leader of men."

"Well, with a reputation like that, I see no reason to think Kousonsan would be in much trouble beyond her current ones," C.J. said.

Touka smiled, heartened at C.J.'s words. "I guess not."

"Sir! Scout coming in!"

At the shout of a nearby soldier, C.J. returned his gaze forward, and sure enough, one of the scouts he sent ahead to get a read on the current situation was on his way back. A bit too quickly, as he'd only sent him only a few hours ago. Ignoring the bad feeling already settling in his bones, he stopped his horse. "Good work, soldier. What news from the Mark?"

"Sir?" the scout asked.

"Just…as you were," C.J. groaned, waving it off. _Gotta stop making those references…_

The messenger nodded. "Sir! There's a detached force of Yellow Turbans some two _li _ahead of our unit! They are thought to be planning an attack on other farmers who immigrated from the neighboring prefectures!"

"How many are in the detachment?" Aisha asked briskly.

"Some ten-thousand, milady!"

Touka gasped. Aisha and C.J. shared a confused look.

"So wait, the ten-thousand that that messenger from Kousonsan was going about was only a detachment of the Yellow Turban army and _not _the Yellow Turban army we were going to help Kousonsan beat!?" C.J. realized.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Rinrin.

"There's no other option. Those Yellow Turbans are at least a day and a half's journey from Touka Village, so we must fight them here and stop them progressing any further!" Aisha said.

"What she said," agreed C.J., drawing his sword. "We don't have a lot of time, so we're going to have to do this quickly if we want to be ready for any major engagement. Aisha, take your regiment and head off towards those farms. Get the farmers out of there before the Turbans get there and then make your way back to us posthaste."

"Yes, milord!"

"Touka, round up the archers. I want them all notched and ready to fire at a moment's notice, and then you'll be with me and Rinrin in the vanguard here. We need to head the Turbans off while we can!"

"Of course, Master!"

"You got it, onii-chan!"

Nodding at the two girls, he then rounded to face his gathered forces. "Now all of you listen up! Those Yellow Turbans we were on our way to fight are apparently closer than we thought! However, that doesn't change anything! It's up to us to defend the hearth one more time, and you better damn well know we're gonna send those guys running for the hills when we get out there to meet 'em! Can I get a hell yeah!?"

A loud roar of assent went up from the 5000 men behind him.

"Close enough!" C.J. cracked, eliciting some laughter of the group. "Now, after me, boys! Double time! Sooner we can head those Turbans off sooner we can keep on rolling to our destination!"

The army moved again, hastily moving down the road to catch up with the Yellow Turban detachment before any damage was inflicted. As they crested another hill, C.J. could see the green flags of Aisha's forces in the distance, already starting the evacuation, and by squinting his eyes he could barely see the vanguard of the detachment already moving up ahead of them. _With our current pace, we should be able to reach them, bait them into moving into the volley from Touka and her group, and then move in with Rinrin and my forces to finish them off as they came down into the valley-_

"Onii-chan! Look there!"

Rinrin's shout shook him out of his thinking. "What? Where?"

"Down there, in the valley!"

Looking down, he saw something else…a small group of maybe two or three people, hastily running ahead of the Yellow Turban advance. "The hell?"

"It's two girls and old woman! They're stragglers!" Touka realized.

"Dammit all…" groaned C.J. before quickly grabbing one of his cards. "Touka, hold your forces here! Rinrin, move in with me, We're gonna try that trick we used against Azaret's Turbans so we can get those stragglers to safety!"

"But there's no way we'll be able to reach them in time!" Touka said. "Not without a horse, at least!"

C.J. merely gave Touka a wry grin, holding up one of his cards. "Please, Touka. Remember who you're talking to. CONCORDIA PEGASUS!"

At once, the card glowed and shot into the air, transforming into a brilliant white stallion with two large wings. The winged horse came down to land next to him, allowing C.J. to mount it.

"It's a horse! With wings!" Rinrin summed it up nicely.

"Well, you're not wrong," C.J. snarked. "I'll ride on ahead and get them to safety! C.J. battalion, after me!"

"Chouhi battalion, move out! Charge! Smash! Victory!"

* * *

"Hawawa…Hawawa…"

"Awawa…Awawa…"

To say that Shoukatsuryou Koumei, true name Shuri, and Houtou Shigen, true name Hinari, were in difficulties was a bit of a nasty understatement.

Originally students serving under Shibaki Suikyou, the two girls left their masters' tutelage in order apply their years of learning to the world at large. When they heard about the surfacing of a Messenger of Heaven in the Zhuo District as well as rumors he was tied to someone of the Imperial line, Koumei and Houtou decided to seek their destiny there. Unfortunately for them, the Yellow Turbans attacked a nearby village after going after the aforementioned outpost on the border, and were forced to run for their lives.

Now they were steadily losing ground as they helped an elderly woman try to escape the chaos, but it was clear to both of them they had no means of escaping the oncoming wave, not without abandoning their charge.

"Come on, elder…just a bit more!" Shuri urged.

"Leave me, children," the elder shook her head, barely able to keep pace with the two girls before her. "An old woman like me will only slow you down."

Shuri shook her head, instead continuing to urge the elder on. "That won't do at all! We have to keep going!"

"Shuri is right!" Hinari added. "We'll take you to safety, we promise!"

"But you'll only die with me if you stay…"

"We just can't!" Shuri said. "We went to school so we could help the weak and the innocent! So we can't just leave you here!"

"Y-yeah," added Hinari. "You can make it, we know it! So please, don't give up yet!"

The elder sighed, touched by the two young girls' words. "…thank you, you two."

Komei giggled, blushing at the words of the elder, but Hinari was more focused on something coming at them from the other direction. "Awawa…! Shuri? I think we have another problem!"

"Ahoo…not more Yellow Turbans," Shuri moaned, but when she saw the other army Houtou was talking about, her eyes lit up. "Hawawa!?" In the distance were a set of three flags, all of them green. But while two of them were marked with the kanji of "Chou" and "Ryuu," the third had a symbol of what appeared to be a fist raised to the sun. But what was most surprising was that there was something else headed their way, someone astride a white flying horse!

"Goodness me, who are they?" the elder asked.

"A fist raised to the sun…but the only person who has anything matching that description is the Messenger of Heaven, C.J. Rosenthal!" Shuri said.

"To think the Messenger would lead the battle himself…!" Hinari said.

C.J., astride his Pegasus, came down to land next to them, the winged horse snorting as he got off and then vanishing into white sparkles. "You alright, girls?"

"Ah, yes…we, we're awright…hawawa! I-I mean, we're alright! Thank you for rescuing us!" Shuri said, bowing deeply before C.J..

"Awawa…T-thank y-you…" Hinari added, also bowing, clutching her hat to make sure it didn't fall off.

C.J. looked at the two girls for a moment. One of them was a girl with blonde hair in a bob-cut and violet eyes. She wore a maroon beret with a large sea green bow tied to one side, a short maroon jacket tied at the collar with two bells, a white dress with a sash the same color as her bow, white stockings, and black shoes, carrying a backpack full of things he suspected wasn't just travelling gear. The other was green-eyed with lavender hair in twintails, kept under a witch's hat with the same colored bow and another one in a sash just like her friend, but she lacked her friend's stockings.

However, C.J. also noticed to two other things. One, they both were carrying very familiar cases on their sashes. Two, they only barely taller than Rinrin, which was barely up to his waist. C.J. couldn't help but feel a bit like a giant.

Suddenly, Rinrin came barreling in, viper spear at the ready. "Enhito Chouhi has arrived!"

"Hawa?" Shuri uttered in surprise.

"Awa?" echoed Hinari.

"Rinrin? The hell are you…" C.J. began.

"Hey! Little girls! Are you alright?" Rinrin asked, cutting C.J. off.

"We're not 'little girls!'" Shuri countered, puffing out her chest indignantly. "We're grown girls!"

"Rinrin's a grown-up, too!" Rinrin countered.

_Sure, and Elspeth Tiriel worked for GS4… _snarked C.J. in his head.

"Ah-hey! This is no time to be talking about that stuff! Onii-chan!"

"Rinrin, why are you here? I thought my guys were being the lure!" asked C.J..

"You were taking too long, onii-chan!" Rinrin waved it off. "More importantly, please take these people with you and fall back! Rinrin's gonna go cream those Yellow Turbans!"

C.J. groaned. In spite of Rinrin jumping the gun, it would be largely difficult to lead while keeping three people safe in a horde of soldiers about to become a cold steel sandwich. "And here I was with this nice scheme for beating them…screw it. Go ahead and take your forces ahead, but come straight back so we can execute the maneuver we did before. Capice?"

"No need to worry, onii-chan!" Rinrin said, shouldering her viper spear. "I leave these guys in your hands!"

And without further ado or preamble, Rinrin took off like a shot, heading the way the stragglers had come, her soldiers C.J. facepalmed, groaning against his hand. "At least Touka's around to keep the army in line…better than nothing, I suppose. Anyways, back to business." He turned to the three women before him. "You know about Touka Village? We came out of there."

"I see," the old woman replied. "Thank you for coming for us."

"I'm just happy to lend a hand," C.J. replied, shouldering his greatsword. "If you keep moving up ahead, you'll see a bunch of guys in green. They work for me. Tell them C.J. sent you and they'll take you straight out of here."

The old woman bowed, in spite of her hunched frame. "Thank you, dear. Come, young ones, let's go."

However, Shuri and Hinari both shared a nod, and proceeded to let go of the elder's hands. "Hawa…"

"Awa…"

"Young ones?"

"Hawawa! Ahem…" Komei reacted, suddenly realizing what she did. "Um…please go ahead of us, madam. We…uh…"

"…I see…be careful, you two," said the elder, before making her way in the direction C.J. had come from, leaving the two girls staring intently at C.J..

"…so, what are we doing, exactly?" C.J. asked finally. "You needed something else?"

"Ah! Y-yes!" Komei nodded hurriedly. "Are you the Chief Magistrate of Zhuo?"

"Unless there's another hard-working pegasus-riding Chief Magistrate around here," C.J. replied.

"S-so…you're the M-messenger of Heaven, yes?" Houtou asked. "The one they call C.J. Rosenthal?"

C.J. smiled. "I'm quite sure they might say so. May I ask who's asking?"

"Hawawa!" Komei said excitedly, trying to make herself a little more presentable as Houtou did the same. "My family name is Shoukatsu! My first name is Ryou, and my common name is Komei!"

"Awawa…! M-my family name is Hou, my first name is T-tou, and my c-common name is S-shigen!"

C.J. blinked. _The hell!? Shokatsuryou Komei and Houtou Shigen? So even Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong are in this crazy-ass world! Two of the greatest strategists of the Three Kingdoms Era as well as famed magicians, at least as far as Dynasty Warriors is concerned…and yet not only are they girls, they look about the same age as my younger cousins! __I can almost hear my sister saying it now… "You're a pedophile!"_

"…right then," C.J. said, deciding not to dwell on it further. Besides, they had Turbans incoming, this wasn't exactly time for questions!

"Um, uh, I'll do my besht!" Shuri said.

C.J. blinked again. "…zuh?"

"Aw, I messed up…" Shuri moaned. "I said, I-I'll do my besht, so umm…let us shoin your shide…aw, I messed up again…"

"Awawa…um, what Shuri-chan is trying to s-say is…um, uh…we want to w-work for…" Hinari said, trying to cover for her friend, but a quick look behind them by C.J. made it was obvious that the battle would start before their conversation would end at this rate, so he decided to put them out of their misery.

"Okay, just stop," C.J. said, putting hands on their shoulders. "Take a couple of deep breaths, and then try again. Come on, match your timing with mine. In…then out….and again…and again…better now?" Both girls nodded. "Excellent. Now then, I get the feeling you want to work for me. I'd like to know why."

"We were studying at a private school under Suikyo-sensei," explained Shuri. "But we were always surrounded by people who were sad and powerless, so Hinari-chan and I decided we'd ply our talents elsewhere."

"B-but then we heard about the Messengers of Heaven and when we heard about how you fought of the Yellow Turbans here in Zhuo, we decided that our ideals and yours would coincide the most…" said Hinari.

"So please let us lend you our strength!" the girls finished in unison, bowing deeply once again.

C.J. spared a look. By the look of things, Aisha was already on her return trip, her forces regrouping with Rinrin's and Touka and her archers were moving to regroup with them. "Talents, you say? What exactly were you learning at that private school?"

"Pretty much everything," Shuri said, counting off her thin fingers. "Tactics, politics, economics, as well as trying to learn about these card things that Suikyo-sensei found…"

"Cards?" asked C.J. with a furrowed brow, before going into his deck case and revealing the back of one of his cards. "Something like this, by chance?"

"Hawa/Awa!?" the girls gasped before reaching into their own cases. Sure enough, they were carrying Magic: the Gathering cards.

"Well, I'll be damned," C.J. said, putting the card back. "Okay. Final question, because we can't stick around much longer. We're going to be doing a lot of fighting against these Yellow Turban coves. You're not going to be scared, are you?"

"I'm not shcared! ...ahoo…" Shuri said, while Hinari shook her head wildly.

"Yes you are," C.J. said flatly, causing both girls to look down. "That's why you two are tripping over your words. But hey, I'm scared too, so I'm in no position to judge."

"B-but if we run…we can't help anybody," said Hinari.

"Then that's all I need to hear," C.J. smiled. "Just stick by me, and I'll protect you. Because that's what I do. 'sides, if you girls are trained in tactics, then I can definitely use whatever suggestions you have. We agree?"

"Of courshe!" Shuri nodded happily.

"Mm!" affirmed Hinari.

"Good! Now come with me, we don't want be late for the big show!"

* * *

With the army finally now a cohesive whole once again, C.J. sought out Aisha and Rinrin. "Status report, girls! How are we holding up?"

"Everything's gone well so far," Aisha replied. "I suspect they became confused when they saw me coming over the hill to evacuate the farmers, and then Rinrin's unit on the other side, because they retreated, as if waiting for us to charge, but after I rejoined Rinrin they began moving again."

C.J. looked out over the countryside. The Turbans were steadily bearing down on them from across the valley. They'd be on top of them before too long.

"They're not much more than a mob, like before," Aisha added. "Charging forward is all they know how to do…"

"But against this many, it's definitely a problem," groaned Rinrin.

"No kidding. That sure looks like ten-thousand guys down there, so we'd better have one stellar game plan or we'll all be slaughtered," agreed C.J., pushing forward Shuri and Hinari from their hiding place behind C.J. slightly. "Which is why I've got a couple of helpers to help us out!"

Shuri and Hinari finally came out, standing on either side of C.J., but nobody made a move, still wondering what had happened.

"Lord C.J….who are they?" asked Aisha finally, giving them a hard stare.

"On my left, Shokatsuryou Komei," said C.J.. "And on my right, Houtou Shigen. I'm told their skill in tactics is quite remarkable."

"Really?" Touka asked, finally breaking the ice and looking at each girl in turn. "Well, I'm Ryuubi Gentoku, I'm Master's Vice-Magistrate! But you can call me Touka, if you like!"

"Ryuubi? So you are the one who they say is the descendant of the Emperor's line?" asked Shuri. Touka nodded happily.

"Lord C.J., I must protest!" Aisha said suddenly. "Why did you not come to me first? Furthermore, they're simply children! How will they be able to help us?"

"Nya-ha-ha! Aisha-chan is jealous!" Rinrin laughed.

"Eh!? W-why would I be jealous?" Aisha turned on Rinrin, suddenly backing off. "If Lord C.J. suddenly has other women by his side, then the issue of defending them…!"

"Sounds like jealousy to me!"

"And I said it isn't!"

"Okay, can we not do this right now!?" C.J. cut in, pointing at the Yellow Turbans rapidly getting closer to them. "In case you've forgotten, we've kinda got bigger fish to fry!"

Touka, despite the tense situation, still hadn't lost her smile. "I agree with Master! So please, continue, Komei-chan, Shigen-chan."

Shuri and Hinari brightened, bolstered by C.J. and Touka's votes of confidence, and after a few quick whispers, Shuri took charge. "Well…in this kind of situation, if the enemy lacks a formation, then the best thing we can do is engage in the square formation, and then have the center of the formation retreat into the twin column formation…"

"And then we flank them on both sides and turn them into a cold steel sandwich!" C.J. finished.

"…I wouldn't put it that colorfully, C.J.-sama, but yes," Shuri nodded.

"Brilliant, Komei-chan!" said Touka.

"I'm telling you, girls. These two know what they're talking about!" C.J. nodded sagely.

"…it is a good plan in theory," Aisha disagreed. "But there is a small problem: to engage that formation we would need to move in tight and consistent fashion. And our forces lack the kind of cohesion necessary to pull it off."

"Hrm…that is a problem," C.J. admitted.

The two tacticians shared another look before Shuri came up with another plan. "Perhaps, then it would be more simplistic to have the best men among your forces to disengage and then attack the flank at the best moment possible?"

"…no objections here," said C.J.. "I mean, it's the Yellow Turbans, beating these guys isn't exactly rocket science."

"That is more sound," Aisha agreed. "From there, it's more about minimizing our losses for the next engagement."

"Don't worry! Rinrin will do her best!" Rinrin said happily.

"Just try not to go completely hog-wild out there, Rinrin. We need you in the best shape possible for when we take on the main force," C.J. said, checking his friend's attitude.

"Boo…you worry too much, onii-chan!" Rinrin pouted, cheeks puffed.

"Sir!" A messenger suddenly appeared before C.J. from the army's vanguard. "The enemy has arrived!"

"Then we will move as planned! All units, take your positions!" barked Aisha. "Kanu and Chouhi personal guard units, we'll standby in the rear and await our orders!"

"Yeah! Charge! Smash! Victory!" added Rinrin, waving her viper spear overhead.

"UUUUUOOOH!" the soldiers responded to Rinrin's battle cry, ready for the engagement.

* * *

As the army, under Shuri and Hinari's command and Aisha's watchful eye, moved into position to make their move, C.J. was more focused on who was behind the Yellow Turbans. After the last battle and the involvement of Azaret, he knew he had to be weary in case the Golgari guildmage returned for revenge, or in case Azaret had an accomplice who also wanted revenge. Silly? Probably. But in a world where Magic: the Gathering was real, not to mention painful, he wasn't going to take any more chances.

Sure enough, the Turbans came thundering down into the valley. C.J. motioned with his sword, and his soldiers immediately charged, meeting in the center as Touka and her archers let fly. He tried not to focus on the battle being waged in front of him, even as memories of the fight from Touka Village continued to buzz in the back of his mind like a nearby beehive. There was still no sign of anyone hanging back, or people moving around something that wasn't there.

C.J. looked up in the sky to check the time. "Okay! Time to execute our game plan! Touka, are Rinrin and Aisha in position?"

"Yes, Master!"

C.J. shook his head, ignoring Touka using that title simply because it distracted him from the battle. "Okay! All units, defensive retreat! Don't go too far too fast, keep them on a leash!" Little by little, the army backed off, the Yellow Turbans continually assaulting them, but with their forces as disorganized as they were, each attack was already doing less and less.

Like clockwork, Aisha's forces and Rinrin's forces came thundering in from their flanks, obscured by the hilly terrain. Like a pair of piercing jaws, the three factions came together, crushing the life out of the Yellow Turban horde.

"Look at that, Master! The plan worked! The Yellow Turbans are starting to be forced back!" said Touka happily.

"Mm," C.J. hummed, not exactly sharing in Touka's happiness. "And yet why does that feel like it was too easy?"

Suddenly, something caught his eye, something way in the back atop to the hill the Turbans had come from. At first it was hard to tell as it arced into the sky, obscured by the sun, but then it came back down: a whirling tornado of fire, descending right into the battlefield.

"Master-!?" Touka shouted.

"I see it, I see it!" C.J. said, already pulling out his deck. He quickly selected one and threw it into the fray. "BATHE IN LIGHT – RED!"

The two spells resolved, a bright light hitting the battlefield as it fell on their soldiers ahead of the twister. While many people initially screamed as it struck them, those that were protected by the Boros spell found themselves unharmed, and then proceeded to fight again, held up on a rush of adrenaline at having managed to escape death so suddenly.

"What on earth was that?" Touka asked.

"I got a good idea," C.J. said, summoning his Concordia Pegasus once more. "Touka, you need to stay here and keep the fight going on this front while I go find Mister Wonderful and give him a piece of my mind!"

"But you can't go alone!" said Touka.

"And if we both go, our guys will lose morale," said C.J., taking Touka's hands in his own. "Touka, please. Can I trust you with this task?"

"…okay," Touka said after a long silence.

"Okay. I'm off," said C.J., getting on his Pegasus.

"Good luck, Master!"

C.J. gave Touka a wry grin. "Luck's for losers."

* * *

Taking off into the air, C.J. scanned the battle as he passed over the battle lines. Aisha and Rinrin were also fighting, Rinrin bashing and slashing her way through Yellow Turbans with mighty sweeps of her viper spear, Houtou staying behind her, armed with a short curved staff. On the other side was Aisha, her kwan dao barely visible, with Shuri behind her, armed with a feathered fan and giving suggestions at odd intervals. Those few short seconds were all he felt he could spare before that buzzing noise came back, he needed to focus more on that other guy, the one who called that flaming tornado down earlier.

As he cleared the main furball, the ground suddenly erupted, reaching green and red tendrils trying to strike him out of the air. With a nudge, the Concordia Pegasus dived, dodging the oncoming strike as C.J. hefted his greatsword. "Now!"

The Pegasus flared, stopping short of the ground as C.J. leapt off its back and dove at his enemy, swinging his sword, only for the haft of a spear to intercept the oncoming attack. C.J.'s target, a man with wild blonde hair and beard in a suit of red armor with red and green accenting, smirked as he shoved him back, attempting a strike with his spear, but the pegasus suddenly got in the way, taking the attack as it vanished into sparkles once again.

"Well, at least now I know I'm not wrong about you being the one who unleashed that little firework display back there," C.J. observed, keeping his sword point up.

"And now I know you're the one who blocked it with that little light show of yours," the man said. "I am Kagg, of the Gruul Tribes. I'd say it's an honor, but it won't matter once you're dead."

"Great. Just what I need: more guildmages," snarked C.J..

"I would've opened up with that line myself, but then again, you are the one who beat Azaret," Kagg replied. "So I guess that should count for something. Not a lot, but something."

"Nice to know I mean that much to you," C.J. snarked again, pulling out his deck. "So what, are you the next person I'm facing in the guildmage archnemesis lottery?"

"Nothing so dramatic," Kagg replied, retrieving his deck from its case at his waist. Once again, lightning cracked across the sky, a strike suddenly raising up a transparent rainbow wall around them. "I am here on orders to eliminate one of the major players for the Kingdom of Shoku. And the one thing I do know is that if I eliminate you, Gentoku and her allies will fall easily."

"Tch…good luck with that. The only way you get to them is past me!" C.J. said, retrieving Aurelia from his deck and placing it off to the side.

"Is that a challenge?" Kagg asked nonchalantly, taking his own Commander out of his deck.

"If the shoe fits! Game on!"

* * *

**Kagg: 40  
C.J.: 40**

"Now then, as I'm the challenged party, I'll take the first move and play a Mountain," Kagg said, placing the land on the table.

"Then I'll drop a Plains," C.J. added.

"Draw, then Mountain again."

"Draw, and Mountain."

"Draw, then Forest." A green ball of light now joined the two red ones Kagg had out.

"I'll throw down a Plains again, then tap to play Boros Cluestone!" the familiar red and white stone reappeared on C.J.'s table. "I can tap it for red or white mana."

"A fair trinket, but I prefer something with a bit more offense," said Kagg. "Forest, then tap for Scorchwalker!" A humongous fire elemental appeared on the battlefield, roaring at C.J. (5/1).

"Yeesh…" C.J. said, taking his next card. "Plains, then tap for Nav Squad Commandos!" Three Boros knights, wielding swords and bladed shields. (3/5)

"Mountain, then tap for Gruul Cluestone!" another cluestone, this one made of a mossy green rock with the Gruul symbol etched in red, appeared on Kagg's table. "I attack with Scorchwalker!"

"No blockers," C.J. said, raising his hands as the elemental swung its burning claws at him. The attack sliced through his clothes, the heat singing the edges of the rending.

**C.J.: 35**

"So attached to your creatures you won't block?" taunted Kagg.

"This is EDH rules, buddy. I can be a bit more lenient with the damage I take than usual," C.J. countered, drawing. _Fantastic. Last time I was screwed for mana. Now I'm getting screwed for creatures! _"Plains, then tap for Boros Signet, which lets me pay one to turn it into one red and one white mana!" a small ring appeared on C.J.'s hand, bearing the Boros symbol. "Then, I tap to use Boros Cluestone's other ability, which lets me sacrifice it and draw a card…" The stone shattered, and C.J. took another card. "I attack with Nav Squad Commandos!"

The three knights charged forward, past the Scorchwalker and striking Kagg. The Gruul guildmage merely shrugged it off.

**Kagg: 37**

"If that's all you've got, then I'm sorely disappointed. Mountain, then tap for Ruric Thar, the Unbowed!" From the explosion of red and green mana, a large two-headed ogre carrying a club the size of a large tree appeared. (6/6 Vigilance, Reach) "And then I'll attack with Scorchwalker again!"

"No blockers," C.J. said again, taking another shot from the elemental as it ripped through his jacket.

**C.J.: 30**

"I really need to do something to make my lucky suede jacket tougher…" C.J. grunted, licking his fingers and pinching out a small flame on his jacket where the Scorchwalker had struck him. "…I'll play Shimmering Grotto and end my turn there."

"Mountain, and then I'll tap for Gruul Nodorog!" A green hound-like dog appeared, snarling at C.J.. (4/4) "Then, tap for Disciple of the Old Ways!" A human warrior clad only in leather and a bone dagger. (2/2) "And now I attack-"

"Activate instant! Aurelia's Fury, Charge 3!" C.J. suddenly ignited in an explosion of fire. "Now I can deal 3 damage divided among any creatures or players I want. So, I'll be dealing 1 damage to Scorchwalker, Ruric Thar, and to you! HOOAAH!" With that mighty roar, the flames exploded, striking Kagg and his creatures. The Scorchwalker collapsed and vanished while Ruric Thar fell to the ground, stunned, and Kagg shaking off the wave.

**Kagg: 36**

"But that's not all. With Aurelia's Fury, any monster that gets hit with it gets tapped, and any players that get hit with it can't cast creature spells for the rest of the turn!" said C.J..

"...that's all you've got? Mine's better! Ruric Thar has an ability to deal 6 damage to any player that casts a noncreature spell!" Kagg countered.

Ruric Thar suddenly glared at C.J. with all four of his eyes from his sitting position, and then actually threw his club at him, crushing C.J. under its weight. "…ow…"

**C.J.: 24**

"It's the least you could do for not allowing me to attack this turn. Your move," said Kagg.

"Har har," C.J. grumbled, drawing another card. "Plains, then tap to play Boros Swiftblade!" Another armored knight with a sword and shield appeared on the field. (1/2 Double Strike) "End turn."

Kagg drew. "First, I tap to pay Gruul Cluestone's ability, and sacrifice it to draw another card." The stone shattered, and Kagg took another card. "Then, I tap to activate the effects of Disciple of the Old Ways and Gruul Nodorog's ability, giving the former First Strike for the turn, and the latter can't be blocked except by two or more monsters! Then, I'll attack you with everything!"

"I block Disciple with Nav Squad Commandos, and Ruric Thar with Boros Swiftblade!" said C.J.

"That won't be enough to finish off Ruric Thar!" Kagg said, watching the ogre smack down the knight with its club.

"But this will! Go, Arrows of Justice! This deals 4 damage to any attacking or blocking creature!" Suddenly, a hail of red and white arrows suddenly shot down from the sky, spearing through the ogre and bringing it down…and the club fell down on C.J.'s head once again as Ruric Thar's effect hit him for more damage.

**C.J.: 18**

"It's official…" C.J. groaned, massaging his aching head. "I hate Gruul decks…"

"If it's any consolation, I probably hate your Boros deck even more," cracked Kagg.

"Not funny." C.J. drew. "I play a tapped Boros Guildgate!" A mighty citadel, colored gold against the sun with red and white accenting, rose up behind him. "Then I'll tap to play my Commander!"

"Oh?" asked Kagg.

"_Her wings blaze with righteous fury! With burning sword in hand, she casts down those who are wicked! May all who are evil fear her coming, for justice shall be served at last! Behold, the Guildmaster of the Boros! AURELIA, THE WARLEADER!_"

Once again, the plume of golden flame descended from the sky, as Aurelia took to the field, wings spread and sword bared. (3/4 Flying, Haste, Vigilance) "With Aurelia out, I'll now attack with Aurelia and Nav Squad Commandos!"

Aurelia took flight, soaring past Kagg's monster as the Commandos followed in her wake, striking at Kagg with their swords.

**Kagg: 30 (CD – 3)**

"Then, Aurelia's ability activates, and this my monsters to untap and then I gain a second combat phase! For this one, though, I'll attack with just Aurelia!" Aurelia took flight and charged again, striking her enemy.

**Kagg: 27 (CD – 6)**

"So it's true. Your commander IS the Guildmaster of the Boros," said Kagg, wiping a little blood off his mouth. "I always did want to smash that ugly bitch's face in. I may get my chance here! I tap for Gruul Nodorog's effect again, and then attack with him again!"

_He's going to send in the Nodorog? Even if I need two monsters to block, Aurelia and my Commandos can handle him easily…_ C.J. mused, reaching for his Nav Squad Commandos.

"And then I tap to activate the Bloodrush effect of my Zhur-Taa Swine from my hand, which lets me discard it and then add my Swine's power and toughness to my Nodorog!" Kagg added. The image of a large boar entered into the Nodorog's body, and at once its eyes blazed and it howled, charging straight at C.J.

"…no blockers," C.J. said, taking his hand off the Commandos. The hound pounced on him, tearing at C.J's upraised arms with its maw.

**C.J.: 9**

"Ow…ow…" C.J. made it back to his table, nursing the stinging arm.

"Oh, quit whining. I've suffered worse fighting dragons!" Kagg said.

"Fighting dragons?" asked C.J. sarcastically. "What, are you actually FROM Ravnica? I wager that's unlikely-"

"I was born and raised on the outskirts of the Tenth District! How dare you insinuate Ravnica does not exist!" Kagg snarled, possibly becoming angry for the first time since he'd met him. "I tap to play Scab-Clan Marauder!" A large dark-green scaled viashino, a half-man half-lizard creature, appeared on the field. (1/1 Bloodthirst 2, Trample) "And because I dealt damage to you this turn, it also comes into play with Bloodthirst active, giving it 2 +1/+1 counters!" The viashino hissed angrily as crouched, eyeing C.J. hungrily. (3/3 Trample)

_So Ravnica DOES exist? That probably means Azaret's from Ravnica too, if he actually DOES work for the Golgari…_ C.J. thought. _Just what the hell is this thing I've been dragged into? _ "Plains, then tap for Boros Reckoner!"

A large minotaur in Boros regalia appeared on the field, roaring his battle cry at Kagg and his Nodorog. (3/3). "And then I attack with Aurelia and my Commandos again!"

Once again, Aurelia and the knights charged forward, striking Kagg with their weapons.

**Kagg: 21 (CD – 9)**

"And then Aurelia's effect kicks on again, and I send in Aurelia to attack again!" Aurelia pulled a u-turn, having soared past Kagg on her first attack run, and then struck him again from the back. "End turn."

**Kagg: 18 (CD – 12)**

Kagg drew. "I tap for Scab-Clan Giant!" A large giant wielding a stone hammer in its hands suddenly appeared on the field. (4/5). "And when it enters play, it fights a random creature!"

_Shit! A fighting effect means both creatures deal damage to each other equal to their power…if it hits my Commandos, I'm golden, because it's toughness 5 and therefore can resist the attack. If it hits my Reckoner, it wouldn't be ideal, but it'd definitely be bad if it hits Aurelia! _

The giant raised his hammer, and then swung it down with a mighty roar…hitting the Commandos. The knights resisted the attack with their shields, but all three of them were on the ground, exhausted from the experience.

"Damn…" sighed Kagg.

"Woohoo! That fight's a wash!" cheered C.J.

"Don't think you're out of the woods yet! I attack with Scab-Clan Marauder and Gruul Nodorog!" Kagg countered. The viashino warrior dashed into the fray with the Nodorog, claws bared.

"I block the Marauder with Boros Reckoner!" The minotaur wizard leapt in front of the Marauder, the two monsters destroying each other as they fought and Nodorog went for C.J.'s other arm.

**C.J.: 5**

"Urgh…I normally like dogs, but I want to give that thing the Old Yeller treatment so bad…" groaned C.J, watching as a faint aura of lightning surrounded him. "But, I do get a nice little bonus. See, Boros Reckoner has an effect that takes damage inflicted to it by source and throw it to another creature or player. So, guess who!"

C.J. pointed at Kagg, and the lightning surged away from C.J. and struck Kagg.

**Kagg: 15 **

"Now then…" C.J. drew. _Warleader's Helix! Just what the doctor ordered!_ "I tap to play Warleader's Helix! I now deal 4 damage to your Nodorog and gain 4 life!" The double-helix lightning spell returned, striking the hound down. At once, the wounds on C.J's arms and the damage on his jacket closed and healed.

**C.J.: 9 **

"Now then. I attack with Aurelia and my Nav-Squad Commandos!"

"I block the Commandos with Scab-Clan Giant!" The knights charged the giant as it sent them all flying with a swipe of its hammer, leaving Aurelia alone to engage Kagg.

**Kagg: 12 (CD – 15)**

"Aurelia's ability kicks on! Aurelia, hit him again!" Aurelia swooped down again, striking Kagg from the back.

**Kagg: 9 (CD - 18)**

Kagg snarled, drawing. "You're persistent, I'll give you that. But I'm in a much better position than you are right now. I attack with Scab-Clan Giant, and then tap for Run, which gives +1 power for each attacking creature to all my attacking creatures, making him a 5/5!"

"…no blockers…"

The giant's hammer came down, sending C.J. sprawling to the ground yet again, coughing and wheezing as he tried to regain his breath.

**C.J.: 4**

"And then I'll tap for Petrified Wood-Kin!" Another elemental, this one four-legged and made of what appeared to be dead bark, stomped onto the field, roaring at C.J.. (3/3 Bloodthirst X, Pro instants). "And because I inflicted 5 damage to you, it comes into play with Bloodthirst active at charge 5!" The elemental roared as it grew even larger, rivaling some of the trees around him. (8/8 Pro instants).

"8/8 _and_ protection from instants? Geez!" said C.J..

"Let's see you worm your way out of this one! End turn!" said Kagg.

C.J. drew. _He seems pretty confident in himself, in spite of us being pretty much even in life and field advantage, and his Commander Damage being so high…then again, I've got a creature with flying that's been pinging him throughout the last half of this duel…maybe I can bait him into making a mistake with that card in his hand…_

"Look at you! Getting pinged by a Boros with wings! You'd think you'd have more control over the battle, wild man, but all you've been doing is backpedaling like an Azorius senator! Do you enjoy taking Aurelia's attack so much?" C.J. taunted. "Maybe you'd like to the next one up the-"

"Filthy little…actually, I don't! So I'll just tap for Ground Assault! This lets me deal damage equal to the number of lands I have in play, which is seven, to any creature in play! So Aurelia can come crashing down to earth!"

The lands on Kagg's table lit up, shooting streams of red and green energy at the archangel and striking her down with several thrusts into her body, causing C.J.'s Commander to vanish.

"Shit…!" C.J. cursed. _So far, so good… _"I'll end my turn by tapping for Ordruun Veteran!" A green-furred minotaur appeared, carrying a sword and clad in armor. (3/1)

Kagg drew. "This ends now! I attack with Petrified Wood-Kin and my Scab-Clan Giant!"

"I block your Wood-Kin with my Nav-Squad Commandos, and your Giant with my Ordruun Veteran!" C.J. countered, the two warriors launching themselves into the Gruul creatures, only to be swiftly ended.

"Getting a little frazzled, are we?" Kagg smirked. "I was expecting a bit more out of you. Perhaps because you thought I was with the Gruul Tribes, I'd be someone stupid, like Boborygamos? Well, I guess that little underestimation has proven to be your own undoing!"

C.J. merely smirked right back as he drew. "Oh no. In fact, I guessed you just about right. I had a feeling you had something in your hand that could destroy Aurelia once your health hit a certain threshold. I just had to goad you into using it early."

"Why? Unless you happen to have another creature with haste, you won't be inflicting damage to me any time soon, and you have no monsters to defend yourself! Either way, I win!"

"As a matter of fact…" C.J. grinned as he tapped his lands and a familiar gold plume of flame came descending from the sky once again. "I do. Aurelia! Time for round two!"

The flames erupted outward again, revealing C.J.'s commander once more, glaring at Kagg. (3/4 Flying, Haste, Vigilance, Commander).

"What!?" Kagg shouted, stepping back at the sight of the returned archangel. "No! I destroyed her! How could you play that again!?"

"You're not familiar with EDH rules, are you? Whenever a player's Commander is destroyed or exiled, they have the option of moving it back to the command zone at no cost! Playing it again requires an additional 2 mana for each time it was on the field before, but as you can see," C.J. waved at his table, laden with lands, as well as his Boros Signet. "No shortage of mana here. And with your Commander Damage at 18, I just need one more strike to put you down like the dog you are!"

"No…! This can't be! I had you! I've had you running this whole duel!" Kagg asked.

"You're smarter than the average Gruul, but you're no Dimir!" C.J. said. "Aurelia! Finish him off!"

Aurelia soared high into the air, blazing with golden fire again, before charging down like a meteor, striking down the panicking Gruul in a single blow.

**Kagg: 3 (CD – 21)  
C.J.: 4**

**C.J. WINS!**

* * *

The rainbow barrier vanished, C.J. barely holding himself together as he leaned on his sword, but Kagg looked much worse off. However, the Gruul guildmage wasn't exactly pleased at the duel's result.

"No…I won't let you walk away from this…I'm a proud Gruul warrior…and I will bring you down…by any means…"

"This duel's already over. Run away now while you still have your dignity!" C.J. said, raising his sword point. However, he was already exhausted from the duel and could barely stay standing.

"Dignity...? The dignity of the Gruul is on the battlefield! And you will not stop me!" Kagg snarled, grabbing his spear and charging at the exhausted C.J.. "Farewell, White Flame of Justice!"

Suddenly, a familiar white and green blur came dashing to the rescue, intercepting Kagg's spear with her own weapon. "Milord!"

"Aisha…" C.J. sighed, before finally exhaustion won out and he collapsed, the world disappearing into blackness.

_Who the hell is the White Flame of Justice…?_

* * *

"…-sa…"

"He…ble…ive…"

"How…o sure?"

"…suffered worse…be fine…trust us…"

"Urgh…" C.J. stirred, finally realizing that all five of the girls, Aisha, Touka, Rinrin, Shuri, and Hinari were looking down at him.

"Master!" Touka said, looking rather relieved C.J. had finally come around.

"Hey Touka…" C.J. grunted. It was then he realized that Touka was the one looking directly down at him, and what he was resting on wasn't hard ground at all. In fact, it was rather soft… "Gah…!?" C.J. gave a start, trying to get his head out of Touka's lap, but Touka held him down, shushing him to calm him.

"Milord, try to relax. Your body needs healing now," Aisha said.

"I'm okay," C.J. said. "…no seriously, I am, Azaret inflicted worse on me. I'm just really, really sore. And tired."

"And that is why you need to rest," Aisha insisted.

"We can do that once we've caught up to Kousonsan," C.J. said, taking Touka's hands off his head as he sat up. "Never mind me, how about you? Did we win?"

"You bet, onii-chan!" Rinrin said brightly. "Rinrin was kinda surprised how easily we won thanks to Komei-chan and Shigen-chan!"

"Casualties?"

"Two hundred dead, about four-hundred wounded. We've already sent the wounded back to Touka Village," Shuri said.

"Reinforcements to replace the lost?"

"Should be here within the hour," said Hinari.

"Great!" C.J. said, getting to his feet. He took a step, and staggered a little, his legs protesting as Touka came to grab him, but C.J. put a hand on hers and nodded, taking his sword and leaning on that. "Then once we've accomplished both, we'll be on the road. Good job, Komei-chan, Shigen-chan. I daresay you've proven yourselves twice over."

Shuri and Hinari shared another look. "Hawa/Awa…"

"Mm?" C.J. asked, turning around. "Something wrong?"

"W-we would like you to call us by our mana…" said Hinari.

"Oh? I heard calling someone by mana is only meant for someone that you like and respect. Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes," Shuri said. "Kanu-san and Chouhi-san are very strong! Ryuubi-san and C.J.-san are brave and kindhearted! And you all try very hard, we thought you were amazing!"

"That is w-why we both acknowledge you all, greatly!" Hinari added. "That is why, if you would acknowledge us, then please call us by our mana!"

Aisha considered it, her face a thoughtful one. "Well, seeing as you have acknowledged us, and I will agree with Lord C.J. that you have proven your worth with your sense of battle strategy."

"And the way you two knew when to charge at the same time impressed Rinrin!" added Rinrin. "Not many people can do that!"

"So I think I speak for all of us when I say we acknowledge you both, Komei-chan, Shigen-chan," Aisha finished.

"Yup!" said Rinrin.

"Mm!" affirmed Touka.

"Agreed," said C.J..

Shuri and Hinari brightened like the sun rising in the east.

"Then please, call me Shuri!"

"And you can call me Hinari!"

"Likewise, my mana is Aisha."

"I'm Touka!"

"Rinrin is Rinrin!"

"And if you so wish, you can call me Christian," C.J. said. "Now then, Shuri, Hinari, I trust you'll be wanting to get a proper view of our forces and maybe help establish some strategies we can use against the Yellow Turbans?"

"Y-yes!" both girls nodded, following the hobbling C.J. as he made his way back to where the army was currently resting.

"Shuri-chan, Shuri-chan…hehe…we were called by our mana…"

"I'm really glad, Hinari-chan…"

C.J. smiled, pretending not to hear them. _A crazy-ass world this may be, but be damned if I don't like it._

* * *

_Powers of the Aethermages_

**Double Strike – **An improved version of First Strike. Double Strike means the creature deals damage twice, once as though it had first strike, and then regular combat damage

**Bloodrush – **An ability unique to the Gruul. By paying the cost and discarding a card with Bloodrush, an attacking creature gains the discarded creature's power and/or abilities. Revealed in the _Gatecrash _set.

**Bloodthirst X –**An ability unique to the Gruul. When a creature is put into play on a turn a player was dealt damage, they gain X amount of +1/+1 counters. Revealed in the _Guildpact _set.


	4. On the Winding Spiral Path (Part 1)

**Draw 4: On the Winding Spiral Path (Part 1)**

C.J. had been happy with Shuri and Hinari's performance before. Now he was elated. After spending much of their down time taking stock of the army as well as conducting interviews of the senior warriors among them and spending the rest of the trip to Kousonsan's camp talking animatedly amongst themselves. By the time the camp was in view and the sun was coming down on the day, the two girls had presented him a full report of their assessment of their forces. Most of it was nothing new to C.J. or Touka, but they also provided a number of additional strategies for them to utilize that would give them an advantage, even if they were lacking in number and supplies.

As they approached the camp, he saw that there were a number of guards outside the camp, all of them clad in white to signify their allegiance to Kousonsan. C.J. called a halt, and then jerked his head in their direction at the others, leading them the rest of the way to the camp's entrance.

"Halt!" one of the guards said, keeping his spear pointed in their direction. "Who are you, and what business do you have with Lord Kousonsan?"

"My name is C.J. Rosenthal, Chief Magistrate of Zhuo Province," C.J. said coolly. "Send word to your lord that we've come to offer our aid." He looked down over at Touka, who gave him an expectant look. "Tell her that Ryuubi Gentoku is here with me. That should get her attention."

"The Messenger of Heaven…follow me at once!" the guard, apparently recognizing his name, quickly motioned as he put up his spear, and then led them through the camp. A bright white tent was in the center, with the kanji "Kouson" on it, much how Aisha, Rinrin, and Touka had flags with "Kan," "Chou," and "Ryuu," and C.J. had a flag marked with the symbol of the Boros Legion. The guard entered as another kept them outside for a moment or two, and then he promptly returned. "She will see you now."

"Much obliged," C.J. said, giving the man a nod. "Shuri, Hinari, Touka, you can come with me. Aisha, Rinrin, double back and make sure our reinforcements have been equipped."

"At once, Lord C.J.," Aisha said, and with that, she and Rinrin left, and C.J. and the others entered her tent.

Kousonsan Hakukei, true name Pairen, was waiting for them inside, standing in front of a large table with a map of the area spread across it and marked with small flags, for what purpose C.J. could only imagine at the moment. She was a young girl of Touka's age, with red-pink hair tied in a long ponytail with a white crown-like hairpiece. She was dressed in a pink cheongsam of some sort with white and bronze body armor, and a black skirt.

"Pairen-chan!" Touka said happily, quickly dashing over to greet her friend.

"Touka! It's been a while!" Pairen closed the distance, embracing her old friend. "How long has it been since we graduated from under Roshoku-sensei? Three years? I'm glad you look well."

"And the same for you! I mean, you're a lord now!"

"It's more like a midpoint, actually. I'm technically a vassal of En."

"But that's just like you! Always talking about grand things!"

"A warrior needs aspirations, you know? What about you, Touka? I haven't heard much from you of late, so I was kinda worried."

"Well, I've been saving people as I've been travelling…that's about it, really!"

"…what!?" Pairen's face fell. "You have recommendations from Roshoku-sensei and you've been living as a mercenary this whole time? Why? You could've gotten promoted easily!"

"Well, it's not all that bad! I also became Zhuo's Vice-Magistrate! And I have some really good allies!"

"Oh…you could've said that before," Pairen mumbled, before noticing C.J., Shuri, and Hinari there as well. "So these three here are your allies?"

"We have more, we just sent them back to check up on the status of our guys," C.J. said.

"Yup! Shokatsu Komei, Hou Shigen, and the one that Kanrou-sama was talking about, the Messenger of Heaven: C.J. Rosenthal," Touka said.

"You have a Messenger of Heaven?" asked Pairen, looking closely at C.J.. "I did hear that a Messenger of Heaven had appeared in this area. I just didn't think you'd be working with him."

"Ah-! Pairen-chan, you're doubting me!" Touka pouted. C.J. looked way, hoping none of the people around him would see him turning red at the sight.

"No, no, I'm not doubting you! It's just that…he doesn't look like a Messenger at first glance, for one thing."

"That's not true! I can see his halo right behind him!" said Touka.

"I'm pretty sure that's the sun shining against the tent wall, Touka," C.J. corrected plainly.

"…oh. I thought you were just hiding it this whole time," Touka laughed uneasily.

"Regardless, it's an honor to meet someone with aspirations like Touka's, Lord Kousonsan," said C.J..

"Please, call me Pairen. Any friend of Touka's is a friend of mine, and if she's letting you use her mana then you can use mine, as well," Pairen nodded, giving C.J. a bright smile.

"I see. Anyway, I'm C.J. Rosenthal, Chief Magistrate of Zhuo and its Messenger of Heaven. And likewise, you can call me Christian, it's a good a mana as any."

Pairen tilted her head at that, looking a bit confused. "Touka, is he always so…loose, with his mana?"

"Well, Master doesn't have a mana per se, but he figured he'd use his real name as his mana," Touka explained.

"Just for the sake of being polite," C.J. added.

"Well, I don't know so much about polite, but if that is what your Messenger of Heaven wants, I've got no complaints," said Pairen. "…that's the interesting part about the whole thing, though."

"How's that?" asked Touka.

"Well, I did know about Christian's status as Master of Heaven, actually. But, before then, I was actually introduced to someone who was _also _a Messenger of Heaven who served Enshou-sama, the ruler of En."

"EH!?" Touka, Shuri, and Hinari's jaws all dropped in surprise. C.J. also tried to act surprised, as he'd already known about this from Zylaer's visit, but wanted to keep it secret for the time being.

"Let me introduce you to him," Pairen said. "Guard, send for Vincent, tell him I want to meet our new guests."

"Huh? Vincent?" Now that part, that got C.J. genuinely surprised, as Shuri pulled his sleeve to allow the guard to pass him as he headed outside. When he reappeared, another person, with coffee brown skin and black hair in dreadlocks, wearing a green shirt with a glyphic symbol of a bird in yellow with three triangles forming a larger one overhead, khaki cargo shorts, and black and gray sneakers. And the first thing he saw was C.J..

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, sizing each other up for a moment as the air stilled with the tension, the four girls looking on with bated breath. And then, C.J. stepped away from Shuri and Hinari, and then pointed up into the sky, breaking out into song. "_Our whole universe was in a hot dense sleep!_"

"_And more than 14 billion years ago, expansion started…_" Vincent suddenly jumped in, pausing for a moment before they began some kind of dance.

"_The earth began to cool, the autotrophs began to drool!"_

"_Neanderthals developed tools, we built a wall!"_

"_We built the pyramids!_" the two suddenly locked arms and spun in a do-si-do. "_Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery that all started with a big bang!_" they broke off, pointing at each other for the finish. "_HEY!_"

"Um...bravo?" Pairen asked, completely confused by what she'd just seen, but then the two embraced each other, laughing as they did.

"Vincent, my main village man! So good to see you around here!"

"Same here! Dude, look at you, you look like hell! What happened to your lucky suede jacket?"

"Yellow Turbans happened. Don't worry, I gave 'em ten times worse!"

"Um, Master, what exactly is going on here?" Touka asked, coming between the two Messengers.

"My question exactly!" agreed Pairen.

"Girls, this is Vincent Harking. He's been one of my best friends since high school," C.J. explained.

"So he's a Messenger of Heaven AND a friend of yours? Well, I guess it would be nice to have a Messenger around that didn't want to hurt us!" Touka said happily.

"Agreed," said C.J.

"So what exactly is he here for, Pairen-chan?" asked Vincent, turning to Pairen.

Pairen turned a little red, apparently a little uncomfortable with Vincent using her mana in this situation. "Well, Lord C.J. is here with his friends to help us deal with the Yellow Turbans."

"Really? And not a moment too soon," Vincent said with a grin. "Nice to know you got our message, C.J.."

"And nice to know you've been keeping the Yellow Turbans from getting any further into our territory. But, from what I hear, you're kinda got your hands full with the other guys," C.J. went over to the map, taking a closer look at the layout Pairen and Vincent had out. "So, how stuck are you, exactly?"

"Stuck," said Pairen.

"Stalled, really," Vincent said.

"Stuck," Pairen repeated, correcting the Messenger next to her.

"That bad, then," C.J. nodded. "Alright. Run it for me and my friends here. And don't leave anything out, I want to see the whole picture."

Pairen and Vincent nodded, joining C.J. at the map with Touka, Shuri, and Hinari right behind him. "From what we've been able to see with our scouts, the Yellow Turbans number probably no more than 25,000 fighting men. I sent word out to Ryosei and to you, hoping that maybe I could get some reinforcements, because we're certain that the majority of that force is on their way to us right now to finish us off for good."

"How many men do you have on you right now?" asked C.J.

"About 5000, barring wounded," said Vincent. "We've got another 2500 on their way in from Ryosei, they should be in by no later than tomorrow morning, so that makes our number about 7500."

"And we've got another 5000 on hand ourselves, so that puts us at 12,500 men total, give or take a hundred or two for casualties," said Shuri. "We're still outnumbered some two to one here…"

"Outnumbered, but not outmatched, though, right?" Touka asked hopefully.

"I'd like to agree, but there's another problem," said Pairen. "We also have it on good info that the Turbans are operating locally in this area. They have some kind of fortress in the forest or in the Shakudouzan mountains here in the southwest, and they've been raiding local trade routes down this road into Kei Province for supplies. I've sent as many scouts as I'm willing to gamble with into the forests to try and find it, but I've found nothing so far."

"Which means that any attempts to defeat the Turbans will not nearly be effective even if we win. They can simply retreat if they start losing and regroup," said Hinari.

"And just for the cherry on top, we know they also have two Messengers with them," Vincent added. "They're not Pairen, but they're definitely a step up from your average Turban, commander-wise."

"Two messengers?"

"Yeah. The main one is a guy with wild yellow hair and armor, kinda looks like he needs to be on _Vikings_, plays green-red, and another guy who looks like he's Voldo from _Soul Calibur _and plays black-red."

"What's he talking about, master?" asked Touka.

"I'll explain later," C.J. mumbled to Touka. "Vince, does the green-red guy play with cards out of the two Ravnica blocks?"

"Yeah, actually. I know that because he likes to cast spells from the back and only calls creatures in when I get in close, but by the time I get through those huge creatures he's already high-tailed it. Not very Gruul-like, if you ask me," Vincent said with a frown. He sounded almost disappointed.

"Well, I do have some good news on that front: that 10,000 man detachment was being led by him, and I took him on our way here and beat him. He did run off after the fight, but he was beat up pretty badly. I suspect he'll be out of the way for the next engagement," said C.J..

"Okay, that actually works out," Pairen observed. "One Messenger is better than two. But, it still doesn't leave us with a lot of advantages. I was hoping we'd have a battle plan established by the time all my men have arrived…"

"If you'll pardon me for saying so, Hakukei-dono, but I believe we don't need that many advantages beyond the ones we already have."

The group looked up from the table as two more people came into the tent. One was a young woman with blue hair in a ponytail, adorned in some kind of white hat with long red tassels. She was clad in a white kimono-like dress with an open back and cut with cleavage exposed and almost too low to be wearable, but just low enough to stay modest, and tied with a dark purple bow, with long tails with a wing-like design. Her compatriot was dressed much like C.J. and Vincent, wearing a pair of jeans, a blue button-down shirt, and a pair of cowboy boots. He had blonde hair, cut into a soldier's cut, and green eyes.

"What is it, Chou'un?" Pairen asked with a sigh.

"The reinforcements from Ryosei have arrived ahead of schedule, which is splendid news," the woman, now known as Chou'un, said with a serious expression. "Therefore, we wanted to see hear your battle plans for the next battle, wherein Simon and I will lead your forces to victory."

Pairen wilted, clearly not wanting to get involved with Chou'un for whatever reason. Vincent, meanwhile, gave Chou'un's friend a look, to which he replied, "Hand of God, I tried to stop her, Miss Hakukei, but you know how it is."

"This again…" Pairen said with a heavy sigh. "I know you are ready and willing to prove your valor, but I was in the middle of talking with C.J., Ryuubi, Houtou, and Shokatsuryou right now. Don't you think it's insolent of you to interrupt?"

"If Simon and I were your vassals, certainly. But I don't remember swearing loyalty to you…" Chou'un said with a grin that could almost be cheeky.

"…she does have a point there," Vincent said to Pairen.

"Alright, fair enough," Pairen said. "What is it that you suggest we do?"

"The answer is obvious," Chou'un said. "If a matchless warrior were to attack and strike fear into their hearts, they will surely rout. I believe we should strike now, while we have this opportunity."

"…are you out of your mind?" Pairen asked, shocked. "They outnumber us at least two to one! In war, the most basic strategy you learn is to have more soldiers than the enemy! Attacking them openly is out of the question!"

"I agree," said Vincent. "You're attacking into a wall of Yellow Turbans, Chou'un. I know you're good, but you're not THAT good, and you alone won't be enough to help our army win."

"Just as a single grain of rice can tip the scales, so can a single soldier change the face of an entire battle," said Chou'un, her tone suddenly colloquial. C.J. and Vincent shared a look. "Against a legitimate enemy, such words would be true. But we're not against a legitimate army. These Yellow Turbans are not soldiers, and it's been proven time and again that a strong warrior and a relentless attack will win the day against them."

"Again with the boasting? Who here do you think will have what it takes to lead this ferocious attack on the enemy, then?" asked Pairen.

"The answer is simple: Kanu, Chouhi, and myself."

"…the hell are Kanu and Chouhi?" Vincent turned to C.J. and Touka.

"They're my sworn sisters," Touka said.

"We've got them sitting with our forces, making sure our reinforcements came in properly equipped," C.J. added.

"And are they as good as she says they are?" Pairen asked.

C.J. only said two words. "The best."

"Mm!" Touka agreed, nodding. "I can say that with my hand on my chest!"

"…well, with a chest as big as yours, I have no reason to doubt you. And if your Messenger of Heaven agrees, I've got no complaints." said Pairen. "But Vincent's point still stands. A frontal attack will kill more of our soldiers than Yellow Turbans. You need another plan."

"Is that so…how soft of you, Kousonsan-dono. You may be a feudal lord, but you're a long way from being the Empress of China," said Chou'un.

Pairen's face darkened in such a way that even Touka stepped away for a moment. "How dare you…! Fine, if that is what you believe, then why don't you do as you like?"

"Hm. Challenge accepted," Chou'un countered.

C.J. couldn't take it anymore. "Whoa, whoa, time out everyone!" He quickly stepped between the four of them, arms spread. Suddenly, everyone was looking at him again, and that familiar feel of dread creeping into his feet. "Look. Can we all agree that snapping at each other over trifles is no way to settle this situation? Let's everyone just…take a deep breath, and try again. First of all…she said your name was Chou'un, right?" C.J. turned to Chou'un.

"That's right," said Chou'un. Almost immediately she became interested in C.J., giving him a long look. "I am Chou, followed by Un, and my common name is Shiryuu."

_So this is Zhao Yun, the third of the Five Tiger Generals…she's certainly got the stones to be Zhao Yun, _C.J. mused. _And the fact she's at odds with Gongsun Zan at the table definitely matches the books…but I know I can't let her go running off, the timeline could get all sorts of screwy...if Shuri and Hinari already being in the group ahead of schedule wasn't enough of one already…_

"Chou'un Shiryuu! Your reputation as a warrior is certainly well-renowned," said C.J.. "Join us at the table, we could have use a for your warrior's wisdom."

Pairen paled. Vincent tilted his head in confusion. Chou'un's grin grew even wider. "Oh? Well, it appears you are also someone who one shouldn't let their guard down against, C.J.."

_She knows my name? How long was she listening in on us!? _"You flatter me, Chou'un-san," C.J. said with a slight laugh, trying to keep his eyes from looking at Chou'un or that smoky look she was giving him.

"Please, call me Sei."

"We'd also like your friend's wisdom as well, Mister…"

"Wynn. Simon Wynn's my name," Sei's partner said, his voice thick with a Midwest accent.

"Nice to meet you, Simon. I'm C.J.," C.J. said, leading them to the table. He could see Vincent giving him a "what the hell!?" kind of look, but C.J. held up a hand, mouthing "I got this." "Now, the way I see it, both of you are correct for your respective reasons. Kousonsan is right because any frontal attack with no plan other than 'take-all-our-guys-and-send-them-at-anyone-with-a-different-hat' on an army twice as large as ours only earns us an empty grave. On the other hand, Chou'un is right because rebel groups like the Yellow Turbans operate on traction. The longer they stick around to fight us, the stronger they get. We have got to take them out now, before they get too many people in their ranks. Agreed?"

Pairen and Sei nodded.

"Good. Now then, to the main event. Shuri? Hinari?"

"Hawa/Awa!?" Shuri and Hinari snapped to, realizing they were now part of the conversation.

"I have a feeling you two have been working out a plan since we came to the table. Care to enlighten us to your progress so far?" C.J. asked.

The two girls looked at each other, had a quick whispered conversation, and then Shuri produced her fan, pointing it at the map. "We agree with C.J.-sama and Hakukei-dono that an attempt to fight the Turbans outright is not the right way to go. However, there are other ways of defeating armies in battle, such as breaking enemy morale."

"That makes sense…" C.J. nodded. "Sabotaging supplies, poisoning food, assassination of key leaders, stuff like that?"

"Mm," Hinari nodded. "As the first two options do us no good and we have no means of getting rid of both Messengers at once since C.J.-sama injured the first one, the best way of breaking the enemy morale would be to destroy their stronghold."

"The stronghold that we can't find," Pairen reminded.

"Just because the stronghold can't be found does not mean it doesn't exist," Shuri said. "We merely have to figure out a way for someone to lead us to it."

"And the best way to do that would be to take a Yellow Turban prisoner," said Hinari.

"…crap, why didn't we think of that?" mumbled Vincent.

"Well, if we didn't have any prisoners readily available, what do you suggest we do?" asked Pairen.

Shuri and Hinari fell silent, looking at each other as they crunched the numbers in their heads. Touka looked mildly depressed, possibly with nothing to add herself, and Vincent and Pairen were exchanging whispers. That's when he noticed Sei was staring quite intently at the raid markers on the Kei supply route. "Sei? Anything to offer?"

Suddenly, Sei smirked. "Perhaps, then, the plan should not be to have the Turbans lead us to their hidden fortress, but to have them take us there ourselves."

The table looked at each other.

"I don't get it," said Simon.

"You say that the Turbans have been raiding this local trade route into Kei Province for supplies. I am of the opinion that should be our entrance to the Yellow Turban fortress," said Sei. "Perhaps if we hid ourselves in another supply convoy headed up the road, we will be able to destroy the encampment from within instead of attacking it directly."

The group looked at each other for a moment, digesting Sei plan for a moment.

"She wants to run a Trojan horse," Vincent said in realization.

"A Trojan horse…" Simon nodded in agreement.

"A goddamn Trojan horse. It's brilliant!" C.J. grinned.

"What's a Trojan horse?" asked Touka.

"A Trojan horse is one of the greatest deception strategies in ancient history," explained C.J.. "The story goes that two countries, Greece and Troy, were at war, and Greece couldn't get in Troy's capital after sieging it for ten years. So the leader of the Greeks, a man called Odysseus, came up with a plan where he constructed a humongous hollow horse and presented it to the Trojans and said 'we give up, we're on our back to Greece, take this horse statue that we built for you as a gift,' and then they pretended to sail away."

"…but there was something in the horse, wasn't it?" said Pairen, understanding the situation.

"Bingo," said Vincent. "The horse was constructed to hold a number of elite Greek Soldiers. That night, the Greeks reversed course as the Greeks came out of the horse and struck, one force from within, and the other from without. Troy fell, and the war was over."

"And you think that'll work here?" Pairen asked.

"It'll require some fine-tuning, but I think it's our best shot. Shuri? Hinari?"

"Mm! This kind of plan should work great!" Shuri nodded.

"Then I'll leave you two to it. In the meantime, I suggest we break for dinner," C.J. said, arching his back as he stretched out his arms. "I get hungry planning for victory."

* * *

As Shuri and Hinari continued to work out the plan, the rest of the group spent the rest of the evening as they saw fit, Touka and Pairen were taking time to catch up, while C.J. went to introduce Aisha and Rinrin to Vincent, Simon, and Sei as well as clue everyone in to the plan they decided on. Afterward, C.J. had retired to his tent with the bowl of rice he'd brought for dinner. The tent that had been given to him for his campaign was quite large, especially compared to the average soldier, with a large table in the center for maps and planning attacks not unlike Kousonsan's in front of him. He also noted that, despite its size, it was also a good enough size to play Magic on, much to his chagrin.

Suddenly, he noticed his tent flap shift slightly, and as he peeked over the table, he noticed that there was a small bird with mauve feathers with red feather in its face. It looked back up at him, and then flew up onto the table, chirping.

"Hey, little guy," C.J. cooed, lowering his head to bring his eyes to the bird. "What brings you to my neck of the woods, eh?"

The cardinal merely hopped over a couple of times to where his empty bowl of rice was. C.J. reached into it, pulling out a leftover grain, then presented it to the bird. The bird tilted its head, chirped, and then took it off his finger. It preened its feathers, then chirped again.

"You're a real sweetheart," C.J. chuckled. "Here, let me get my jacket off so I don't roast in he-_what the hell!?_"

"Lord C.J.-!" Suddenly the tent flap shot open again, and Aisha burst in, kwan dao prepared, but instead found C.J. sitting at his table, his somewhat-torn jacket halfway off his body, and staring at something on his now-exposed forearm. "…what happened? Are you well?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," C.J. said. "Though, maybe you might know something about this?" He pointed at his forearm.

Aisha lowered her kwan dao, looking at his forearm. There was now a strange tattoo there. It was in the form of tree, with four peaches hanging from its branches, and a number of Chinese characters written on it, many he didn't recognize.

"That is strange…you only saw this now?" Aisha asked.

"It wasn't there yesterday, if that's what you're asking," C.J. said flatly. "I've been getting better with my Chinese, but I can't read it…"

"I meant nothing by it, milord," Aisha reassured him. "Let's see…well, the reason you can't read it is because it's a more traditional style, so there's more brush strokes…roughly, this part reads, 'he who bears this mark is chosen by divine providence,' and it's got the Seal of Heaven on it…"

"So…what, this proves I'm a Messenger of Heaven?" said C.J..

"Perhaps…hm. This looks like the number four…that reads destiny…dragon…cloud…no," Aisha stared at one particular set of characters. "It can't be…"

"Aisha? Talk to me, what is it?"

"According to this…it says you have been blessed with the spirit of Kousonshou, the Dragon in the Clouds!" Aisha looked up, her eyes suddenly shining.

"Kouson who now?" asked C.J..

"Kousonshou was one of the 108 heroes of Liangshan. They are said to be great heroes who were given the powers of heaven by Hiiki, one of the nine sons of the Dragon King. When they defeated the emperor's armies in a fight, they became a unique military force under the emperor's command to fight rebels and outlaws. Kousonshou was the one of these heroes, and he fought with sword and magic, much like you do."

"Really…" C.J. said thoughtfully.

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" Rinrin suddenly burst in, viper spear at the ready. "Are you okay? Where are the bad guys?!"

"It's alright, Rinrin, false alarm," C.J. said, waving it off.

"Muuu…I was ready to fight bad guys!" Rinrin pouted.

As Aisha explained her findings to Rinrin, C.J.'s mind was on something else. _I don't get it…the 108 heroes of Liangshan, Hiiki, the Dragon in the Clouds…they're all elements out of The Water Margin, which is another one of the Chinese literary classics. But it was set during the Song Dynasty, which isn't supposed to be around for another 700 years! And yet, apparently it took place in the past? This is already all kinds of wrong! _

_...is it possible I didn't time warp at all? But if I didn't…what DID happen to me, then? And how did it also affect Vince and that Simon guy? _

"Oy. C.J., you in here?" Another person poked his head into the tent: Simon.

"Simon?" asked C.J.. "What's up?"

"Your tacticians sent me. They're calling everyone back to Miss Hakukei's tent, they're saying they have a game plan ready."

"Excellent!" said C.J., abruptly standing up as he grabbed his jacket. Aisha and Rinrin gave him a confused look, but C.J. put a hand on their shoulders to reassure them. "What's it looking like? Do you know?"

* * *

"This one required some additional thought, but thanks to Chou'un-dono's suggestion, we were able to construct a battle strategy that should be effective," Shuri said. "The point of the battle with the Turbans is to fight it in three parts. The first part is to use the Trojan horse strategy to destroy the enemy's base. We've agreed that it would be best to only send a handful of soldiers to conduct the mission."

"How many?" Pairen asked.

"No more than seven, but definitely more than two."

"I think three should suffice," said Sei, before gesturing to a nearby cart, loaded with a couple of boxes. "We'll be hiding in these."

C.J. stared at the boxes. They were plain things, both about the size of a large trunk. They were stored along with some food and some farming supplies. But, then he noticed something about them. "Why is there only two?"

"It's to allow us a quicker escape. Also, holes to see through would be a bit conspicuous, no?" asked Sei. "And if they get stacked, one of us is bound to get trapped. I figure that we put one person in a box and two in another. After all, you wouldn't mind being in a box with a beautiful woman, would you?"

"Erm, right. What's the rest of the plan?" C.J. asked, hoping to distract himself from Sei making a move on him, much to Simon's chagrin, and Aisha shooting Sei a dark look.

"While the first group destroys the base, we'll be engaging the Yellow Turbans outside. The second group keep a portion of our forces up front to keep the Yellow Turbans engaged. As that happens, a third group led by Kousonsan-dono, will move in from behind and then attack from the rear once they have a signal to charge from the first squad," Hinari said.

"I get it," Simon said. "String them along while our guys nuke their base, and then crash into them from the rear."

"Then that'll leave them sandwiched between two forces and hung out to dry with their base gone. Even if we don't get rid of all the Turbans, they definitely won't be back in a hurry," said Vincent, smacking his fist.

"In that regard, we've agreed Kousonsan, given that most of her forces are cavalry units, should be in the third group. That just leaves who we should send in with the first group and the second group shall decide itself," said Shuri.

"Well, I think it's obvious Shuri and Hinari should be in the second group. Their talents are best suited there, where the majority of the fighting is," said C.J.. "Kagg will be recovering from his wounds in the base, and seeing as I've tackled his deck style before, I'll join the first group."

"Which leaves me and Simon here in the other groups to tackle the Rakdos guy, one to take him on, and the other to wreak havoc on the battlefield," said Vincent.

"Then I will join Lord C.J. in the first group as well," Aisha said quickly.

"And I will be the third member of the group," added Sei.

"So that leaves Rinrin and Touka to lead the second group with Simon, Shuri, and Hinari," C.J. finished, nodding sagely. "Sounds like a game plan."

"Boo! I wanted to go with Onii-chan!" Rinrin pouted.

"That's impossible," Sei said briskly, with just a hint of teasing in her tone. "This mission will require us to sit still and be quiet for a long time. Kanu and C.J. can do that, but it'd be impossible for someone like you, who is noisy from leaf to root."

"I CAN SO BE QUIET AND STILL!" Rinrin snarled, clearly not liking Sei's attitude.

"Then prove it," Sei said idly. "Show me you can be quiet and still."

"Sei, come on. This is no time for your little game," groaned Simon.

"It's okay, Simon, I'll allow it," C.J. held up a hand. "Well, Rinrin, if you want to go, it's time to put your money where your mouth is."

"Right!" Rinrin said, promptly sitting on the floor. "All I have to do is sit here like this!"

A minute passed, and Rinrin's bravado had already gone.

Five minutes passed, and Rinrin was clearly straining under the effort.

At ten minutes, one could imagine the smoke pouring out of Rinrin's temples before the string finally snapped and, for some strange reason, she somehow exploded like a small firecracker and flopped to the ground in a smoking heap.

"Rinrin!" Touka was immediately first over, checking on her fallen friend. "Don't give up, Rinrin! Open your eyes! …she's got a horrible fever! Pairen-chan! Fetch a doctor!"

"Welp. Guess that proves that, then," Vincent said, clapping his hands once. "Though we could ship her with you guys right now, given her current state."

"You're goddamn upstanding, Vincent," C.J. groaned, removing his glasses massaging the bridge of his nose.

* * *

The next morning, C.J., Aisha, and Sei were packed into their boxes and being taken up the mountain road in a cart that was part of a convoy handled by a small contigent of Pairen's forces. C.J. was by himself in a box with his sword while Sei (at Aisha's request) was sharing the box opposite him with Aisha. Being covered in silks in a dark box, compressed to half his size, while his head rested on his sword's hilt, he could live with, at least for a little while longer. However, there was one thing making the trip longer than it had to.

"Ch-Chou'un-dono…" he could hear Aisha say.

"We don't know when the bandits will strike, so no talking."

"I know that…but your knees…they're kinda…"

"Oh? What's wrong with my knees?"

"Ah-! Stop it!"

"Silence in the ranks, there!" C.J. hissed, though it was less for the benefit of the mission and more for keeping the thoughts of Aisha getting touched by Sei in places he didn't want to think of, and the nosebleed that would be sure to follow. "They gotta be nearby…"

Sure enough, a few minutes later there was a loud yell and the sound of scuffling feet and screams outside of C.J.'s box, a sign that the Turbans had fallen for their trap. After a moment of cursory exploration, he felt the boxes open.

"Looks like some good silks in here...bring them up! We might have use for 'em later!" They were in.

The boxes were hauled off for some distance C.J. couldn't quite specify, until finally they were led into a place that echoed with each footstep and grunt. They were up in the mountains, but where he wouldn't have guessed at first glance. Finally, the boxes were set down, and suddenly there was a loud squeak from one of the boxes. Dread washed over C.J. once more as he froze in his box, trying to stay still. _Goddammit, Sei!_

"Did you hear a woman's voice just now?"

"What are you saying, aniki?"

_Aniki? And that other voice sounds pretty familiar…_

"Eh, you're probably just hungry, aniki. Nothin' to worry about."

"…you're probably right. Come on, let's have one of those village girls give us some sake."

"Can't go wrong with all you can eat meat, either!"

There was the sound of doors closing, and eventually, the voices petered off into the distance.

"…I guess that means it's alright to move."

"Thank God…!" C.J. smacked the lid off his box, finally allowing his full form to extend out, rolling his neck and arching his back. "Ten-thousand yeeeaaars, can leave you with such a crick in the neck…!"

"Hm? What's that supposed to mean?" Sei was next out of her box, letting the silk fall off her form. Aisha came out next, and by the look of things, Sei had been having quite a good time with her on the way up, exhausted.

"It's nothing," C.J. waved it off, helping Aisha out of the box as she buttoned her blouse and adjusted her skirt with her other hand. "The hell are we? Can't exactly be in the mountain valley…"

"We must be underground," Sei said, taking a peek out of the storage room they were in. "There was probably a mine here and the tunnels remained after it was exhausted."

"Which explains why Pairen and Vincent were having so much trouble finding it. Well played, Yellow Turbans. Well played," C.J. observed.

The three of them proceeded to leave the room and head down one of the tunnels at random, their way lit by torches hanging off the supports.

"Getting our bearings in this place is going to be hell, let alone finding an exit. How are we supposed to find our way out?" Aisha asked.

"Well, there is this…lend me that dagger a bit." Aisha handed C.J. a small curved dagger she'd been given, and he proceeded to carve an X into a nearby support. "It's at least good enough to tell us where we've been. Mark one at every intersection so we can retrace our steps later if we have to."

Aisha nodded as she took back the dagger. "But if we get attacked and the only weapons between us is this and your sword, Lord C.J., I'm a bit worried."

"Well, it couldn't be helped. We couldn't carry your kwan dao without it being inconspicuous among the other goods, and we couldn't keep it in the box because your breasts were taking up all the space."

Aisha stiffened, realizing the jab Sei just took at her. "W-well, it wasn't just my breasts that was taking up all that space!" she sputtered.

"Touché," Sei replied, adopting that cheeky grin once more. "If it wasn't your breasts taking up that space, then it was most certainly your ass."

Aisha squawked in embarrassment as C.J. facepalmed, but suddenly Sei halted, hushing Aisha as she pointed down a nearby corridor. And almost immediately, they could hear the sound of men laughing, followed by the sound of a scream from a woman, which got their attention almost immediately. Following the source of the sounds, they were brought to what appeared to be the main hall, where about forty Yellow Turbans were sitting around in defense of the base. "In defense of the base" might have been too strong a phrase for it, though. A couple were practicing with spears while the rest were stuffing their faces.

On a closer look, though, C.J. and Aisha recognized Midget, Aniki, and Fatso from their encounter at the foot of Mt. Godai. However, it was the person who was sitting near the far side of the room that got their attention most, as there was someone there with blood-red hair sitting on a throne of some sort, dressed in a black leather suit of some kind, with dark red ribbons tied around his forearms. Currently, he had a young woman, probably about Aisha's age, in his lap, and he was taking a few liberties with the poor girl.

"Come now, love, don't be like that. It's not like they'll get smaller…unless maybe they do get smaller," the man said, his hands diving into the girl's kimono and immediately toying around with one of her breasts.

"That bastard, forcing himself on her like that!" Aisha snarled, clenching her first. "I'll bring swift justice upon his head!"

"Hey, slow down there, Turbo!" C.J. hissed, forcing his general back into hiding. "In case you didn't notice, that guy kinda changes things a bit!"

"How!?"

"For one thing, this whole plan hinged on the idea that Kagg would be recovering here and it'd make it easier for us to attack. That guy is _not _Kagg!" C.J. pointed at the man on the throne. "In fact, he also matches the description Vince had of the other Messenger of Heaven."

"But we were so certain he'd be here…but if he's not, then where could he be?" asked Aisha.

"I'll give you three guesses where. And the first two don't count," C.J. grunted. "Besides, there's at least forty guys down there and we barely have any weapons among us. We'll need a plan of attack to get that girl away from him!"

"That's the thing, Lord C.J.," Aisha said firmly. "My plan _is_ to attack." With that, Aisha took off running, launching herself into the air as she bounced off one of the wooden steps, and flew another five feet, and then dashed through the horde of Yellow Turbans at the leather-clad man. "That's enough out of you, you scum!"

The man looked Aisha's way for a moment, just in time for one of Aisha's feet to come colliding with his face.

* * *

Outside, the combined forces of the Zhuo-Ryosei army were on the move to conduct the next part of the plan once they had been given word that C.J., Aisha, and Sei had been intercepted by the Yellow Turbans. Now it was time for the rest to make their move. Pairen and Vincent were already on the move arcing around the oncoming Turban army. Of course, in spite of the oncoming battle, Simon could already tell that Touka's mind was elsewhere from the way she looked to the southwest and how she wrung her hands.

"Ryuubi Gentoku, right? Miss Hakukei's friend?" Simon said, sidling in alongside the princess.

"Huh?" Touka blinked, noticing the other Messenger next to her. "Oh…you're Chou'un-dono's Messenger…"

"Yup. Simon Wynn's the name…just in case you forgot," Simon said. "You worried about those friends of yours up there with Sei, aren't you?"

"I guess," Touka nodded.

"You got a little something going on with that C.J. fella?"

Touka's cheeks went bright red. "With Master? No! At least…not really…"

"Relax, just curious is all," Simon smiled. "I only ask because you seem like your mind's on everything but what we're heading out to do."

"Well, yeah. I mean, Aisha-neechan and Master are fighting all by themselves up there, and here I am down here…I don't want to leave so I can go find them, but…"

"You feel like you need to be able to support them somehow," Simon finished. Touka nodded. "Well, don't worry about it. Sei may come off as too cheeky or confident for her own good, but I'll tell you from experience: when the chips are down, ain't nobody more clutch than Sei. So you can relax. Your friends are in good hands."

"Mm…" Touka closed her eyes, digesting Simon's words. "Thanks, Simon. I needed that."

"The enemy is approaching!"

Simon quickly spun, turning back to the front. "Where away, soldier?"

"Straight ahead, sir, approaching awfully fast!"

"Any sign of the enemy Messenger?" asked Touka.

"No, milady!"

Suddenly, a white-clad messenger came dashing in. "Word from Lord Kousonsan! They've identified the enemy Messenger of Heaven as the one Lord C.J. identified as 'Kagg!'"

"…but Kagg is the one we fought before! He should be in the base so Lord C.J. could fight him!" Touka said in surprise.

"Guess Murphy's Law still works in Ancient China," Simon observed flatly.

"Nevertheless, it's too late to turn back now," Shuri said. "We'll need to engage him regardless."

"Did C.J. ever say what his colors were?" Simon asked.

"Vincent did say something about Gruul," said Hinari.

"Then that's all I need to know," Simon said with a grin, turning back to the messenger. "Do the others still want to go through with this?"

"Yes, Lord Simon."

"Then we stick to the plan. Tell Vincent to make sure that he doesn't try to escape, and I'll be the one to finish him off. Get going, now!"

The messenger nodded and hurried off.

"Do you think you'll be able to win? I heard he has a lot of strong creatures on him!" said Touka.

"Coincidentally, Miss Gentoku," Simon smiled, holding up a green and blue deck case, marked with the sign of a curling, crashing wave. "So do I. Miss Yokutoku, Miss Komei, Miss Shigen, I leave the battle in your hands."

"Got it, Simon-san!" said Rinrin, quickly making her way up to the fore with her viper spear. "Everyone, separate into groups of three! One intercepts the enemy, another strikes, and the third guards the back! it's up to us to beat these bad guys and make the land safe again! So fight with Rinrin, and we'll take these guys down! Charge! Smash! Victory!"

"UOOOOH!" the soldiers shouted, raising their spears.

"Don't engage them too hard too fast, gents! The trick's to keep these guys on a leash until we get the signal!" Simon added. "But don't show them any mercy! The ones you leave alive could be the ones who kill you, so stay focused!"

"…they're coming! All units, assume defense formation!" Shuri shouted.

"Alright! Hunker down and give 'em hell!" Simon shouted, pulling out a ten-gallon hat and putting it on his head. "Let's show these guys how we ride!"

The Yellow Turbans came thundering in like a tidal wave of yellow, crashing against their forces. At first, the first three ranks compressed under the overwhelming strength, but the front held firm, giving the Turbans what for as they fought back. Again, and again, the two forces pushed against each other, one trying to find purchase, the other trying to maintain their stance against the enemy.

Suddenly, a familiar tornado of fire began to come swirling down from the skies, bearing in on them all.

"Oh, not again!" shouted Touka.

"Relax, I got this!" Simon cut in, pulling out a card. "MYSTIC GENESIS!"

A swirling, curling mass of blue and green came surging out of Simon's card, swallowing the oncoming tornado whole. He then let the card fall out of his hand as it glowed. At once, the card began to transform into a faceless soldier made of some kind of yellow-green ooze.

"_Sugoi…_" Touka said.

"Yeah, C.J. ain't the only one with a couple of tricks up their sleeve," Simon observed his new ooze soldier. "And by the look of things, that spell definitely had some pepper on it. That guy wants us out of the picture, and he ain't particular how. Should I go after him right now?"

"That depends," Shuri said, thinking for a moment. "Do you have any other spells like that?"

"Just one."

"Then you should engage him now. If one of those spells hits our forces, we'll most certainly be wiped out."

"Right then! Ooze, take the lead!" Simon said, quickly tipping his hat to the girls as the ooze moved up, smacking soldiers away with each wave of its rubbery arms to clear the way. "I'll just be on my way then."

"Good luck, Simon-dono!" said Touka.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aisha was now facing off against for the remainder of the Yellow Turbans by herself, having had the wonderful idea of jumping into the middle of the group and smacking the enemy Messenger of Heaven for molesting a young woman. What else is new?

"Are you alright?" Aisha asked the girl.

"Y-yes…" the girl said, still not really aware of what was going on.

"The hell are you!?" one guy asked.

"Wait…it's that bitch from Mount Godai!" shouted Midget.

"I am Kanu Unchou, the first retainer of the Messenger of Heaven, C.J. Rosenthal!" Aisha proclaimed loudly. "Thou who skulk in the darkness to prey on weak folk shall become rust on my Green Dragon…oh." It was at that moment that Aisha suddenly realized that she did not, in fact, have the Green Dragon Crescent Blade with her at that moment.

Midget sniggered. "Right, so what exactly were you going to make us rust on again?"

"What an idiot…" grunted Sei.

"And here I thought you were the crazy one," C.J. agreed. "So what do we do to save…her?" he asked, only to find that Sei had already vanished into the crowd closing in on Aisha. "Well, I guess that sorts itself out, then."

Aisha drew the curved dagger she'd been given. "This'll be enough for you. Come at me if you don't value your lives!"

"Really? I'd say we're about to give you those words right back to ya!" Midget countered, as the Turbans grabbed whatever weapons they could find to attack Aisha.

Suddenly, Sei made her move, launching rocks at the two braziers lighting up the room. At once, the room went dark.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights!?"

"Does she have company?"

"Someone get some light in here before they escape!"

As the Turbans fumbled around in the darkness, Sei weaved through the crowd to reach Aisha and the girl, C.J. leaping down from the higher level to join them.

"Quick, this way!" she hissed, before taking off down a nearby corridor. Aisha and the girl quickly followed, but C.J. remained behind a moment, producing a small clay bottle with a candle wick poking out of it and a small lit stick, his face barely visible in the gloom.

"Evening, gentlemen," C.J. cracked, lighting the wick as he slammed the bottle on the ground.

Crash. Fwoosh! At once, the bottle's contents lit up, a fire suddenly blocking the route Aisha and Sei had taken. As the Turbans scrambled back, C.J. took another bottle, lit the wick, and pitched towards the center of the ground. Crash! Fwoosh! Another fire lit up, sending Turbans scurrying for cover. By the time anyone thought to attempt shooting at him with a bow or throwing a spear, C.J. had already taken off down the tunnel, and had managed to catch up to his allies a short while later, catching their breath against the wall of another shaft.

"What happened, Lord C.J.? Are you hurt?" Aisha asked.

"No, I just went and bought us a little time," C.J. shook his head. "Though we'll need to get out before too long."

"…I smell smoke," Sei said, sniffing the air for a moment. "Is that what kept you?"

C.J. opened up the insides of his jacket, revealing there was now some additional small bottles in pockets sewn on the inside. "It's a little trick people sometimes use in movies back home. We call it the 'Molotov cocktail.' Take a small breakable container and fill it with anything flammable like lamp oil or alcohol. Light the wick, throw it on the ground, and presto! Instant fire."

"That's actually quite ingenious," Sei nodded sagely. "Though I guess it's only to be expected from the Messenger of Heaven."

"Again, you flatter me," said C.J., noticing that Aisha was giving Sei another dark look. "That said, Aisha, what the hell was that all about? If we ever get out of this, we need to have a serious discussion about that little stunt you pulled back there."

"Forgive me, Lord C.J.," Aisha bowed deeply. "I forgot myself in the heat of the moment."

"Umm…" the girl they had saved suddenly cut in from her sitting position against the wall. "Thank you for saving me."

"No need to thank us. We only did what was right," Aisha said, giving the girl a reassuring smile.

"You got a name, miss?" C.J. asked. "How'd you get involved with these Turban guys?"

"M-my name is Ami," the girl said. "I'm from a small village at the foot of the mountains here. I was gathering herbs nearby with children from the village when we came across the entrance to this place."

"And then the Turbans spotted you and grabbed you to keep this place quiet," C.J. finished.

"The children are being kept in another part of the mine nearby. If I managed to escape this place…I don't know what those Turbans would do to them," Ami twitched.

"…well. I guess this means the plan has changed," Sei observed.

"My thoughts exactly. We can't exactly raze this place to the ground if there's innocent people in here. Besides, I don't nearly have enough cocktails to take this place down. I was gambling on their base being closer to the valley," C.J. nodded.

"But if we can't destroy this place, how will be able to signal to our friends we actually destroyed it? We're by and large the lynchpin in the whole plan!" Aisha asked.

C.J. grunted an "I don't know," drawing small designs in the ground in thought. The only sure way to destroy a mine would be to destroy the supports holding up the mineshafts, but the mine was large and there was good chance they would trap themselves than escape if they took out the wrong ones. It just went to show that relying solely on their Plan A was a very bad idea, and now it was time to come up with a Plan B, which everyone had neglected to think of, and the people who C.J. knew could come up with one were probably a hundred miles out at least.

"As far as I'm concerned, there's not a lot we can do about the plan," Sei suddenly spoke. "I suggest we forget about that for the moment and focus on what we can do at this point."

"And the one thing we know we must do is to help Ami and those children. You wouldn't happen to know where they would be held, yes?" Aisha asked, turning to the village girl.

"I-I think so. There may be some guards waiting there, though," said Ami. "Will you be able to handle them?"

"Please," C.J. said with a grin. "Punishing Yellow Turbans is our specialty."

* * *

Ami led them down a few more tunnels and eventually they came to a small room where a single Turban was guarding a cage containing the other villagers, five in number, grumbling to himself about the state of his luck. However, he was suddenly distracted by a nearby whistle, and the sight of a long white stocking being dangled before him from around the corner. When he saw a bare leg and a hand beckoning him. Thoroughly enchanted, he wandered right into the embrace of Sei. And by "embrace," I mean he was quickly silenced, punched a few times, and then thrown into the opposite wall in an unconscious, drooling heap.

And in the midst of all this, also robbed him of his spear and the keys to the cage.

So, the group of them made their way through the corridors, now in a race against time and the Turbans to find an exit. Unfortunately for them, Ami and the rest had been blindfolded, so they had no surefire way of getting out. The only option, as C.J. reasoned, that being underground, the only way out was up, so they merely had to find the uphill routes and they would find their way out sooner or later.

And then that's when Midget rounded a nearby corner, suddenly spotting them.

"I found them!" he shouted down the hall. "They're this way!"

"Take them that way!" C.J. said, pointing at a corridor behind the group with his sword as he lit another cocktail with a nearby torch. "I'll buy you some ti-" He never finished, as Midget suddenly came flying in, spear surging forward. C.J. dodged the spear, but dropped the firebomb, lighting up the corridor in flame. Snarling, C.J. lashed out with his knee, catching Midget in the face and sending him to the ground, but by that point someone else had entered the fray: the leather-clad man Aisha had kicked earlier.

"Well, so you're the one Kagg mentioned," he said, a sickeningly light-hearted grin on his face. "Don't exactly look like much, but then again, Kagg was always a bit of a weakling."

"Well, don't I feel special," C.J. snarked. "Whose ass do I have the pleasure of kicking today?"

"Ooh, someone's confident!" the man said. "I am Ralvet, slaughtermaster of the Cult of Rakdos! Tell me, that girl who kicked me, was she with you? I must ask, if I were to cut her beautiful skin into ribbons with my blades, would it be as soft as finest Orzhov silk?" Two blades suddenly shot out of the man's wrists, over the top of his knuckles.

"…I am going to enjoy kicking your ass _way _more than I should," C.J. growled, raising his sword.

"Please do!" Ralvet cackled, dashing forward. C.J. stepped back, blocking the bladed punch, then lashed out with the pommel of the sword. Ralvet ducked under the blow, swing his foot in a kick that smashed into C.J.'s side. Stumbling back into a large empty cavern, C.J. attempted a _scheitelhau,_ a German technique made for striking the top of the head, but Ralvet zipped forward, striking C.J. with both bladed fists. C.J. managed to twist his body in a way to avoid what surely could've been a fatal blow, but the blades still pierced his jacket and cut into his side.

Keeping his blade pointed at Ralvet, C.J. disengaged and looked down at himself, and noticed the long gash in the suede the blades caused when he'd been struck. "…just great. Good thing I decided to wait on having this thing repaired-" Ralvet dashed forward, swinging his bladed fist again, which C.J. dodged with a shift of his head, leaving a slash on his cheek. "Oh son of a bitch!"

"Not exactly a warrior if you're so easily distracted," taunted Ralvet. "I expected more of the Messenger of Heaven!"

"And yet why is it that I'm two-for-two against you Turban folk and you're still batting zero? Can't call that coincidence, can we?" countered C.J.

"…touche," Ralvet said. "But, considering you marched into my territory and then had your little girlfriend kick me earlier (a stunning kick from shapely legs, mind you) and interrupt my fun time, I feel motivated to give you a taste of some real pain..." Ralvet produced a deck case, black and red and marked with a mask-like design.

"Then let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine!" C.J. countered, showing his own deck case. Immediately, the storm began again, raising the magical barrier.

Ralvet cackled, an almost horrifying sound. "THEN LET THE SLAUGHTER GAMES BEGIN!"

* * *

At the bottom of the valley, Kagg was in the middle of the furball between the Yellow Turbans and Touka's forces, swinging a curved sword in one hand and his spear in the other. He still kept to the less chaotic parts of the battlefield, but still continued to give orders to the Turbans to reinforce specific wings of the battlefield wherever he was. He was still not up to full strength after getting beaten by C.J., but he hoped that he would be able to fight the Boros user once again.

Stabbing another soldier, he suddenly caught the size of an ooze soldier headed his way, followed by a man in a strange hat. In one hand he was carrying a large hammer, the other was a card. At once, Kagg realized what was happening, and thrust out one of his hands. "SCORCHWALKER!"

"PLASM CAPTURE!" Simon quickly threw out his own card. As the burning elemental began to form, Simon's own mana swallowed it whole, turning it into balls of light that swirled around his body. However, just like Vincent said, Kagg was already disengaging from him and trying to get back towards the furball. "Ooze, cut him off!"

The Ooze reacted, suddenly bouncing across the battlefield like a wave, and then reformed in front of Kagg, cutting off his escape.

"Where you runnin' off to, partner?" Simon asked. "Vincent was right, you ain't got a lot stones for someone who says he works for the Gruul Tribes…"

"So says the man who prefers to fight using that ugly thing instead of his own hands," Kagg countered.

"Then what was up with that Scorchwalker?" asked Simon. "Just for cheap thrills? Or did you notice I had Plasm Capture in hand and you wanted to give me the mana out of the kindness out of your heart?" Kagg glared at Simon. "Thought so."

"…who are you?" Kagg asked ill-temperedly.

"The name's Simon Wynn. Simic player supreme and Top 32 finisher at Grand Prix St. Louis," Simon said. "And I'm here to lay down a sound whoopin' on your ass for all the trouble you've been causing C.J. and Miss Hakukei."

"Such a big mouth you have. I'll take pleasure in snapping it shut!" Kagg said, producing his deck.

"Try it, whelp!" Simon brought out his own deck as the Ooze vanished. "You ain't gonna live long enough to regret how stupid you are!"

Immediately, lightning cracked the sky, striking the ground as the barrier was raised.

_This oughta keep Kagg from overtaking our forces…but until C.J. and Sei get that signal up that the base is down, this whole thing could still blow up in our faces…I know you can do it, Sei, but you better hurry up, or we're all cooked like smoked ribs!_

* * *

Meanwhile, Aisha and Sei had led Ami and the children through the corridor C.J. was now fighting Ralvet in and up another corridor. Finally, there was the glimmer of sunlight peeking out across the crest of the hill leading to their hopeful destination. "An exit!"

Cresting the hill, they finally made it to the sunlight for the first time since they made it inside…only to find that their supposed exit was, in actuality, a cliff, with escape separated by a large chasm.

"Well…we are in trouble…" Sei observed flatly.

_**To Be Continued…**_

* * *

**On the Next Aethermages of the Three Kingdoms...**

_The Battle of Shakudouzan rages on as Simon takes on Kagg and his Gruul horde in an attempt to buy the army more time for their plan! Meanwhile, C.J. and his Boros Legion face off against the Cult of Rakdos. Can he hold him off long enough for Aisha and Sei to formulate an escape plan? And will Vincent and Pairen take matters into their own hands in order to save their friends? Find out on the next BLAZING chapter of Aethermages of the Three Kingdoms!_


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